Legs and Arms by Ruth Collie (1927)
"Legs and Arms" by Ruth Collie is a light comic poem narrated by a visitor who describes the transformation of friends once consumed by antique-furniture collecting. Before the poem's turning point, the couple's every conversation revolves around period furniture: a William and Mary chair, a table, a tallboy, and a chest bought to furnish a guest room. The narrator, visiting regularly, is subjected to constant lectures on furniture history and styles—"William and Mary," "Queen Anne," "Heppelwhite," "Chippendale"—until the narrator claims to have the periods memorized. The couple admires the furniture's physical details in specialist terms, pointing out a "cup-turned" leg and directing attention to their Sheraton bed. The poem then pivots on a domestic joke: everything has changed because the household has welcomed a new baby. The couple's fixation on furniture legs, arms, and chests is comically repurposed to describe the infant's body instead of antique pieces. Where they once admired a chair's curved leg, they now dote on "a little curved leg they love to kiss"; where they once praised smooth wood finishes, they now admire "a dimpled arm so smooth and white" that gives them delight. The word "chest," previously tied to a piece of furniture, becomes a pun-driven pivot to the baby itself, as the father exclaims over the child, punning on "tallboy" (a piece of furniture) versus "tall boy" (a growing child)—"Just look at this fine tall boy!" The poem closes on the couple's total abandonment of their old hobby: they no longer discuss "Seventeenth Century" furniture or any historical period at all. Everything in their conversation now "dates from just last week," reflecting the newborn's recent arrival. The final lines make the joke explicit: their passion for period furniture has been entirely displaced because they have acquired a "One-Week-Old"—the new baby—whose infant body parts (legs, arms, chest) have supplanted the antique legs, arms, and chests that once dominated their attention and speech. The piece is built entirely on sustained double meaning: furniture vocabulary is mapped one-for-one onto a baby's anatomy, and the humor depends on the reader recognizing the antique terms recycled in their second, literal sense. The narrator functions purely as an observer and foil, someone who once had to endure furniture-collector talk and now, by implication, will endure equally enthusiastic baby talk—the substance of the couple's obsession has changed, but the intensity and specificity of it has not. The poem's brevity and rhyming, sing-song structure reinforce its status as a comic vignette rather than a narrative with plot development: it is essentially a single extended pun stretched across paired rhyming lines, moving from the "before" state (furniture mania) to the "after" state (baby mania) with the birth of the child as the implicit, unstated hinge event between the two.
By Ruth Collie · First published 1927 · Genre: Children's Literature, Light Verse, Humorous Poetry · 254 words
First lines
A curious thing, but a fact all the same, some friends of mine (never / mind what name) thought of nothing and talked of naught but a William / and Mary chair they'd bought. And also a table, a tallboy, a chest, / with which they had furnished the room for a guest. Whenever I / visited just for a span, 'twas "William and Mary" or good "Queen / Anne. " 'Twas "Heppelwhite" this and "Chippendale" that. I soon had / the periods learnt off pat. They looked at a leg, "Cup-turned," they / said, and bade me observe their Sheraton bed. But now all's changed, / and the reason's this. There's a little curved leg they love to / kiss; there's a dimpled arm so smooth and white, its graceful contour / gives delight. And as for the chest, it gives much joy. Says Daddy, / "Just look at this fine tall boy! " Of Seventeenth Century they don't / speak. Everything dates from just last week. For period furniture / lost its hold -- since they have acquired a One-Week-Old.
Genres
- Children's Literature — The whimsical tone, bouncy rhyme scheme, playful wordplay with 'legs and arms,' simple vocabulary, and focus on a baby's delightful features indicate this work is designed for a children's audience
- Light Verse — The piece employs regular rhyming couplets, bouncy meter, and comedic structure characteristic of light verse rather than serious or formal poetry
- Humorous Poetry — The work is fundamentally a poem structured around satirical observation and a punchline about furniture obsession being eclipsed by parental fascination with a newborn
- Satire — The piece gently mocks the pretentiousness of period furniture collectors and their obsessive naming of historical styles
Tags
children's nonfiction · human body · anatomy · body parts · limbs · movement · bones · muscles · joints · physical activity · health education · science education
What this Textopian page supports
Legs and Arms is listed on Textopian as a short story by Ruth Collie, dated 1927 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Ruth Collie
- Date: 1927 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Children's Literature, Light Verse, Humorous Poetry, Satire, Narrative Poetry
- Length: 254 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Legs and Arms by Ruth Collie
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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