Project Gutenberg 2005-03-15 Public domain in the USA. 181 Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck) 1836 1911 Gilbert, William Schwenck, Sir Bab Ballads and Savoy Songs E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team "Bab Ballads and Savoy Songs" by W. S. Gilbert is a collection of humorous poems and songs written in the late 19th century. This work showcases Gilbert's wit and satirical commentary on various aspects of society, ranging from love and marriage to social status and absurdity in everyday life. The poems include a variety of characters and scenarios, each delivering clever rhymes and engaging narratives that reflect the author's sharp sense of humor. The opening portion introduces a series of whimsical ballads, beginning with "The Yarn of the 'Nancy Bell'," where an elderly naval man recounts a darkly comedic tale of survival at sea, touching on themes of desperation and cannibalism. It unfolds with lively descriptions of seafaring life and eccentric characters, setting the tone for the collection. Each ballad follows a different amusing narrative or character, hinting at Gilbert's skill in blending comedic elements with social critique, making the opening an engaging invitation into the humorous world of his verse. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 79.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en English wit and humor Humorous poetry, English Songs, English -- Texts PR Text Category: Poetry Category: Humour Category: British Literature 265963 2025-08-06T13:44:54.153341 text/html 279126 2020-12-14T07:51:19 text/html 384566 2025-08-06T13:45:05.664342 application/epub+zip 385246 2025-08-06T13:44:57.365352 application/epub+zip 149549 2025-08-06T13:44:55.204358 application/epub+zip 1282671 2025-08-06T13:45:10.147274 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1411516 2025-08-06T13:45:03.245311 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 444582 2022-09-07T21:24:44.801931 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 166707 2025-08-06T13:44:52.786365 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 166438 2020-12-14T07:51:19 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 166456 2020-12-14T07:51:20 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20645 2025-08-06T13:45:10.292268 application/rdf+xml 30906 2025-08-06T13:44:55.331379 image/jpeg 3436 2025-08-06T13:44:55.269347 image/jpeg 63863 2020-12-14T07:51:20 application/octet-stream application/zip 369385 2020-12-14T07:51:20 application/octet-stream application/zip 63856 2020-12-14T07:51:20 application/octet-stream application/zip 367498 2025-08-06T13:44:54.213349 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia