Shel Silverstein

Ladies First

Ladies First - meaning Summary

Selfishness in Comic Warning

This short, comic poem depicts Pamela Purse, a selfish girl who repeatedly insists on Ladies first to push ahead, grab food, and drink others dry. Her habitual rudeness escalates into darkly humorous irony when the group is captured by a cannibal king and her insistence could make her the first victim. The poem uses exaggeration and absurdity to show how self-centered behavior backfires and endangers both the individual and others.

Read Complete Analyses

Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first,' Pushing in front of the ice cream line. Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first,' Grabbing the ketchup at dinnertime. Climbing on the morning bus She'd shove right by all of us And there'd be a tiff or a fight or a fuss When Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first.' Pamela Purse screamed, 'Ladies first,' When we went off on our jungle trip. Pamela Purse said her thirst was worse And guzzled our water, every sip. And when we got grabbed by that wild savage band, Who tied us together and made us all stand In a long line in front of the King of the land- A cannibal known as Fry-'Em-Up Dan, Who sat on his throne in a bib so grand With a lick of his lips and a fork in his hand, As he tried to decide who'd be first in the pan- From back of the line, in that shrill voice of hers, Pamela Purse yelled, 'Ladies first.'

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