I am the very model of a modern Major-General

E513109

comic opera song song

"I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" is a famous patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera repertoire, renowned for its rapid-fire, tongue-twisting lyrics and satirical humor.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
I am the very model of a modern Major-General canonical	2
I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General	1
patter song "I am the very model of a modern Major-General"	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T5344835 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: I am the very model of a modern Major-General
Context triple: [The Pirates of Penzance, notableSong, I am the very model of a modern Major-General]

A. Camptown Ladies
"Camptown Ladies" is a traditional American minstrel song, also known as "Camptown Races," popularized in the 19th century and widely recognized in folk and popular music.
B. Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a famous British patriotic song, originating from an 18th-century masque, that has become closely associated with national pride and traditional ceremonial occasions.
C. Do-Re-Mi
Do-Re-Mi is a popular show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music," known for teaching the musical scale through its lyrics.
D. I Whistle a Happy Tune
"I Whistle a Happy Tune" is a cheerful show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I," known for its theme of using outward confidence to overcome fear.
E. Lili Marleen
"Lili Marleen" is a famous World War II-era German love song that became an unofficial anthem for soldiers on both sides of the conflict and was popularized internationally by Marlene Dietrich.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: I am the very model of a modern Major-General
Target entity description: "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" is a famous patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera repertoire, renowned for its rapid-fire, tongue-twisting lyrics and satirical humor.

A. Camptown Ladies
"Camptown Ladies" is a traditional American minstrel song, also known as "Camptown Races," popularized in the 19th century and widely recognized in folk and popular music.
B. Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a famous British patriotic song, originating from an 18th-century masque, that has become closely associated with national pride and traditional ceremonial occasions.
C. Do-Re-Mi
Do-Re-Mi is a popular show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music," known for teaching the musical scale through its lyrics.
D. I Whistle a Happy Tune
"I Whistle a Happy Tune" is a cheerful show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I," known for its theme of using outward confidence to overcome fear.
E. Lili Marleen
"Lili Marleen" is a famous World War II-era German love song that became an unofficial anthem for soldiers on both sides of the conflict and was popularized internationally by Marlene Dietrich.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	comic opera song ⓘ song ⓘ
associatedCharacter	Major-General Stanley ⓘ
composer	Arthur Sullivan ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United Kingdom ⓘ
culturalStatus	one of the most famous patter songs in English-language theatre ⓘ
eraOfComposition	late 19th century ⓘ
firstPerformanceDate	1879-12-31 ⓘ
firstPerformancePlace	Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York City ⓘ
firstPublisher	Chappell & Co. ⓘ
genre	comic opera ⓘ patter song ⓘ
hasAdaptations	adapted in advertising jingles ⓘ adapted in animated cartoons ⓘ adapted in film and television ⓘ
hasForm	solo song with chorus responses ⓘ
hasParodies	numerous parody versions in popular culture ⓘ
hasRecording	numerous commercial cast recordings ⓘ
includedInAct	Act I of The Pirates of Penzance ⓘ linked to: The Pirates of Penzance
influenced	later patter songs in musical theatre ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
lyricist	W. S. Gilbert ⓘ
lyricStyle	dense rhyming and internal rhymes ⓘ
meter	fast patter ⓘ
musicalStyle	light, syllabic setting ⓘ
musicBy	Arthur Sullivan ⓘ
notableFeature	rapid-fire lyrics ⓘ satirical humor ⓘ tongue-twisting wordplay ⓘ
openingLine	I am the very model of a modern Major-General ⓘ
operaBy	Gilbert and Sullivan ⓘ linked to: W. S. Gilbert
originalMedium	stage performance with orchestra ⓘ
partOfWork	The Pirates of Penzance ⓘ
period	Victorian era ⓘ
rightsHolder	public domain in many jurisdictions ⓘ
subjectMatter	parody of military expertise ⓘ satire of superficial knowledge ⓘ
sungByCharacter	Major-General Stanley ⓘ
tempo	allegro ⓘ
theatricalFunction	character introduction song ⓘ comic showpiece ⓘ
timeSignature	2/4 ⓘ
title	I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General ⓘ linked to: I am the very model of a modern Major-General
typicalPerformerVoiceType	baritone ⓘ
usedFor	showcasing verbal dexterity of performers ⓘ
wordsBy	W. S. Gilbert ⓘ
workFromOpera	The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty ⓘ linked to: The Pirates of Penzance

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Pirates of Penzance → notableSong → I am the very model of a modern Major-General ⓘ

Major-General Stanley → notableFor → patter song "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" ⓘ

linked to: I am the very model of a modern Major-General

I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General → title → I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General ⓘ

subject linked to: I am the very model of a modern Major-General