The Muffin Man is preserved in the Bodleian Library with lyrics very similar to those used today: <poem> Do you know the muffin man? The muffin man, the muffin man. Do you know the muffin man Who lives in Drury Lane?</poem> Victorian households had many of their fresh foods delivered, such as muffins, which were delivered door-to-door by a muffin man. The "muffin" in question was the bread product known in the United States as English muffins, not the much sweeter cupcake-shaped American variety. Drury Lane is a thoroughfare bordering Covent Garden in London. The rhyme and game appear to have spread to
The Man He Killed attempts to reassure himself by explaining the reasons for shooting him. In the end, he has no real justifiable reason and wonders at how "quaint and curious war is" to make one kill a man as easily as becoming friends at an inn. The poem is made up of short lines using a simple rhyme scheme and everyday language. These format choices make the poem almost like a nursery rhyme in its simplicity, providing an ironic contrast to its unpleasant subject. The heavy irony of terms compared to the events narrated in the poem contrast in purposeful ways that emphasize