Stanza 1In the first stanza, the speaker states that Father William is old and that he has white hair. He asks him why he constantly stands on his head.
Stanza 2We learn that the questioner is Father William’s son. Father William’s answer to the question in the first stanza is that when he was younger he thought he might hurt his brain if he stood on his head, but now he knows he has no brain so he does it repeatedly.
Stanza 3The son repeats his statement that Father William is old, “excessively fat”? adds to it the statement that he is extremely fat, and asks why his father is still doing gymnastics.
Stanza 4
The father replies that when he was younger he used a cream that kept his arms and legs flexible and offers to sell his son a couple of boxes of the cream.
Stanza 5
The son repeats, once again, his statement that Father William is old and adds to it the statement that his father’s teeth and jaws are too feeble to eat anything except fat. Then he asks his father how he was able to finish all of the goose they ate at dinner, including the tough parts which usually are not eaten.
Stanza 6
Father William replies that he had been a lawyer . He uses his strong
jaws to exercise by arguing all of his law cases twice – once for talk, not
to eat? practice with his wife, and once before the court. He does not
mention eating but emphasizes the fact that he uses his strong jaws for
effective talking.
Stanza 7
The young man once again points out that his father is old and tha his eyesight should be weak by now. He asks his father how he balances an eel on the end of his nose and how he got to be so smart.
Stanza 8
Father William says that three questions are enough for him to answer and criticizes his son for “giving himself airs,” or being self-important and conceited. He says he doesn’t have time to listen to his son’s nonsense and tells him to leave or he will kick him down the stairs.

FATHER WILLIAM