Teddy Bear

In ‘Teddy Bear,’ A. A. Milne constructs a playful satire about social standards through the form of a nursery rhyme. The titular bear worries about his tubbiness until he realizes that fat kings are still considered handsome, which gives him confidence in his appearance. With this amusing fable, A. A. Milne pokes fun at how societal fashions about appearance change based on a person’s status.

Teddy Bear 
A.A. Milne 

A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at;
He gets what exercise he can
By falling off the ottoman,
But generally seems to lack
The energy to clamber back.

Now tubbiness is just the thing
Which gets a fellow wondering;
And Teddy worried lots about
The fact that he was rather stout.
He thought: "If only I were thin!
But how does anyone begin?"
He thought: "It really isn't fair
To grudge one exercise and air."

For many weeks he pressed in vain
His nose against the window-pane,
And envied those who walked about
Reducing their unwanted stout.
None of the people he could see
"Is quite" (he said) "as fat as me!"
Then, with a still more moving sigh,
"I mean" (he said) "as fat as I!

Now Teddy, as was only right,
Slept in the ottoman at night,
And with him crowded in as well
More animals than I can tell;
Not only these, but books and things,
Such as a kind relation brings -
Old tales of "Once upon a time,"
And history retold in rhyme.

One night it happened that he took
A peep at an old picture-book,
Wherein he came across by chance
The picture of a King of France
(A stoutish man) and, down below,
These words: "King Louis So and So,
Nicknamed 'The Handsome!'" There he sat,
And (think of it!) the man was fat!

Our bear rejoiced like anything
To read about this famous King,
Nicknamed "The Handsome." There he sat,
And certainly the man was fat.
Nicknamed "The Handsome." Not a doubt
The man was definitely stout.
Why then, a bear (for all his tub )
Might yet be named "The Handsome Cub!"

"Might yet be named." Or did he mean
That years ago he "might have been"?
For now he felt a slight misgiving:
"Is Louis So and So still living?
Fashions in beauty have a way
Of altering from day to day.
Is 'Handsome Louis' with us yet?
Unfortunately I forget."

Next morning (nose to window-pane)
The doubt occurred to him again.
One question hammered in his head:
"Is he alive or is he dead?"
Thus, nose to pane, he pondered; but
The lattice window, loosely shut,
Swung open. With one startled "Oh!"
Our Teddy disappeared below.

There happened to be passing by
A plump man with a twinkling eye,
Who, seeing Teddy in the street,
Raised him politely to his feet,
And murmured kindly in his ear
Soft words of comfort and of cheer:
"Well, well!" "Allow me!" "Not at all."
"Tut-tut! A very nasty fall."

Our Teddy answered not a word;
It's doubtful if he even heard.
Our bear could only look and look:
The stout man in the picture-book!
That 'handsome' King - could this be he,
This man of adiposity?
"Impossible," he thought. "But still,
No harm in asking. Yes I will!"

"Are you," he said,"by any chance
His Majesty the King of France?"
The other answered, "I am that,"
Bowed stiffly, and removed his hat;
Then said, "Excuse me," with an air,
"But is it Mr Edward Bear?"
And Teddy, bending very low,
Replied politely, "Even so!"

They stood beneath the window there,
The King and Mr Edward Bear,
And, handsome, if a trifle fat,
Talked carelessly of this and that….
Then said His Majesty, "Well, well,
I must get on," and rang the bell.
"Your bear, I think," he smiled. "Good-day!"
And turned, and went upon his way.

A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at.
But do you think it worries him
To know that he is far from slim?
No, just the other way about -
He's proud of being short and stout.

Summary

The speaker introduces his readers to Teddy, a very tubby bear who is concerned with his appearance. He compares himself negatively to passersby until he encounters a picture of King Louis of France, who is labeled as handsome despite being fat. However, Teddy again becomes concerned when he is unsure whether the King of France is still alive.

One day, Teddy sees a plump man walking by, so Teddy asks if the man is the King of France. When the man replies that he is, Teddy is overjoyed and returns home with a new sense of pride in his stoutness.

Structure and Form

‘Teddy Bear’ is a rhyming poem consisting of 13 stanzas and 104 lines. Each stanza has four rhyming couplets, which gives the poem a sing-song rhythm that matches its funny tone and central figure: a child’s stuffed bear.

Literary Devices

• Rhyme: The poem is composed of rhyming couplets, which gives it a charming, nursery-rhyme quality. Most of them are perfect rhymes, with a slant rhyme from lines 5-6.
• Dialogue: Teddy often engages in a dialogue with himself. For example, in lines 13-16, he wonders about how people stay thin, which brings the reader into his thought process.
• Personification: Milne personifies the titular teddy bear throughout the poem. Hearing his thoughts and concerns allows the reader to empathize and relate to Teddy’s plight.
• Alliteration: In the final line, Milne uses the alliteration of “short and stout” to reflect the bear’s triumphant feelings.
• Repetition: Milne repeats the first four lines of the first stanza in the last one to create a comparison between the bear’s initial feelings of insecurity and his newfound confidence at the end of the poem.

Detailed Analysis

Stanza 1

A bear, however hard he tries,                                         

Grows tubby without exercise.                                        

Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,                                     

Which is not to be wondered at;                                     

He gets what exercise he can                                         

By falling off the ottoman,

But generally seems to lack

The energy to clamber back.

The speaker describes a chubby teddy bear who, no matter how “hard he tries,” cannot lose weight. This immediately introduced a humorous angle, as a stuffed teddy bear naturally cannot change shape like humans.

His exercise consists of “falling off the ottoman” and struggling to climb back on, which instills sympathy in the reader for the clumsy bear. The rhyming couplets establish the poem as a nursery rhyme, while the witty language foreshadows incisive social commentary.

Stanza 2-3

Now tubbiness is just the thing

Which gets a fellow wondering;

And Teddy worried lots about

The fact that he was rather stout.

He thought: “If only I were thin!

But how does anyone begin?”

He thought: “It really isn’t fair

To grudge one exercise and air.”

For many weeks he pressed in vain

His nose against the window-pane,

And envied those who walked about

Reducing their unwanted stout.

None of the people he could see

“Is quite” (he said) “as fat as me!”

Then, with a still more moving sigh,

“I mean” (he said) “as fat as I!”

The speaker reveals that Teddy is very concerned about his tubbiness. He ruminates about it, engaging in a dialogue with himself. Teddy wonders how anyone loses weight, concluding that, in his case, it’s very difficult because he can’t go outside and exercise. Here, the poem suggests that since tubbiness is Teddy’s natural shape, it is foolish of him to fret so much about it, much as it is silly for people to worry about changing their bodies.

In the third stanza, Teddy continues to worry about his weight. He watches thin passersby and feels envious. This shows that he is most concerned with what others think about his weight. As Teddy compares himself to other people, he only feels more miserable, convincing himself that no one is fatter than him. The speaker makes light of the bear’s woes as Teddy corrects his grammar from “me” to “I,” which further shows how comparing one’s appearance to other people’s is a useless exercise.

Stanzas 4-5

Now Teddy, as was only right,

Slept in the ottoman at night,

And with him crowded in as well

More animals than I can tell;

Not only these, but books and things,

Such as a kind relation brings –

Old tales of “Once upon a time,”

And history retold in rhyme.

One night it happened that he took

A peep at an old picture-book,

Wherein he came across by chance

The picture of a King of France

(A stoutish man) and, down below,

These words: “King Louis So and So,

Nicknamed ‘The Handsome!'” There he sat,

And (think of it!) the man was fat!

Teddy sleeps in the ottoman with other stuffed animals and books—”Such as a kind relation brings”—of fairy tales and history for children. These lines confirm that Teddy is, indeed, the possession of a child. Milne was likely thinking of his son, Christopher Robin, who also owned a teddy bear. The “history retold in rhyme” makes fun of the speaker’s own rhymes, which he is using to communicate with children.

While looking through the books, Teddy sees a picture of “a King of France,” who is also “stoutish” or “fat.” The speaker does not specify which king, only calling him “King Louis So and So.” His exact identity is unimportant to the bear, who is more concerned with the king’s appearance. Teddy realizes that despite the king being fat, people still consider him handsome. The additional exclamation of “think of it!” in parenthesis shows Teddy’s surprise and wonder at learning this fact.

Stanzas 6-7

Our bear rejoiced like anything

To read about this famous King,

Nicknamed “The Handsome.” There he sat,

And certainly the man was fat.

Nicknamed “The Handsome.” Not a doubt

The man was definitely stout.

Why then, a bear (for all his tub )

Might yet be named “The Handsome Cub!”

“Might yet be named.” Or did he mean

That years ago he “might have been”?

For now he felt a slight misgiving:

“Is Louis So and So still living?

Fashions in beauty have a way

Of altering from day to day.

Is ‘Handsome Louis’ with us yet?

Unfortunately I forget.”

Teddy rejoices at the idea that stout men (or bears) can still be considered handsome, imagining himself as “The Handsome Cub!” However, he grows concerned when he cannot remember if the king is alive or dead. In these stanzas, the speaker satirizes how people idolize the rich and famous, whose appearances are always considered “handsome” when they are alive.

Teddy is aware that fashions change quickly, which leads him to worry that being stout might not be considered handsome anymore. Through Teddy’s concerns, the speaker suggests the silliness of these changing standards, which are entirely dependent on status.

Stanzas 8-9

Next morning (nose to window-pane)

The doubt occurred to him again.

One question hammered in his head:

“Is he alive or is he dead?”

Thus, nose to pane, he pondered; but

The lattice window, loosely shut,

Swung open. With one startled “Oh!”

Our Teddy disappeared below.

There happened to be passing by

A plump man with a twinkling eye,

Who, seeing Teddy in the street,

Raised him politely to his feet,

And murmured kindly in his ear

Soft words of comfort and of cheer:

“Well, well!” “Allow me!” “Not at all.”

“Tut-tut! A very nasty fall.”

The next day, Teddy continues to fret about whether the king is alive or dead, which leads him to fall out the window, just like he fell out of the ottoman in the first stanza. A passerby, who the speaker describes as a “plump man with a twinkling eye” helps Teddy up and comforts him. The “twinkling eye” suggests the man’s kindness and good humor. He treats Teddy with dignity and comfort, which later helps Teddy to find more self-confidence.

Stanza 10-11

Our Teddy answered not a word;

It’s doubtful if he even heard.

Our bear could only look and look:

The stout man in the picture-book!

That ‘handsome’ King – could this be he,

This man of adiposity?

“Impossible,” he thought. “But still,

No harm in asking. Yes I will!”

“Are you,” he said,”by any chance

His Majesty the King of France?”

The other answered, “I am that,”

Bowed stiffly, and removed his hat;

Then said, “Excuse me,” with an air,

“But is it Mr Edward Bear?”

And Teddy, bending very low,

Replied politely, “Even so!”

Teddy is more concerned with the man’s plump exterior than having just fallen out of a window. His myopia again makes light of how much people idolize appearance. He recognizes the man as the king in the picture book because he is stout and of “adiposity,” or great girth. Teddy asks if the stranger is “His Majesty the King of France,” and the man confirms that he is.

The man then bows and asks if Teddy is “Mr Edward Bear,” giving the bear a title. In exchanging these formalities, the man treats Teddy with great respect as if he, too, were a king. His “twinkling eye” and “air[s]” suggest that the man is play-acting, but he does so without making fun of Teddy or “Mr Edward Bear.”

Stanzas 12-13

They stood beneath the window there,

The King and Mr Edward Bear,

And, handsome, if a trifle fat,

Talked carelessly of this and that….

Then said His Majesty, “Well, well,

I must get on,” and rang the bell.

“Your bear, I think,” he smiled. “Good-day!”

And turned, and went upon his way.

A bear, however hard he tries,

Grows tubby without exercise.

Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,

Which is not to be wondered at.

But do you think it worries him

To know that he is far from slim?

No, just the other way about –

He’s proud of being short and stout.

After conversing for a little while, the man, now titled the “King,” delivers Teddy back to his home. Teddy returns with newfound pride in being “short and stout,” exactly like the man whom he believes to be the king. In depicting Teddy’s interaction with a stranger, Milne suggests that what makes the plump man a worthy person is not his stoutness or his title, but his kindness toward a forlorn teddy bear. Through the story of Mr. Edward Bear, Milne shows children they need not worry about their appearances but should instead focus on being kind and self-confident individuals.

FAQs

Similar Poems

If you enjoyed reading this poem, you may like some more of A. A. Milne’s poetry:

• ‘The Friend’ — is another poem featuring Milne’s witty rhymes and his famous bear, Winnie-the-Pooh.
• ‘Now We Are Six’ — also takes the form of rhyming couplets. It is another of Mine’s most well-known children’s poems.

As well as this poem:

• ‘The Pig’ by Roald Dahl — is a children’s poem from the perspective of a pig that similarly takes the form of rhyming couples.