although the piece is, according to its name, a polka, it does contain a number of changes in rhythm. it only sounds like a polka towards the end, but this part is actually a borrowing from franz schubert's "marche militaire no. 1" in d major, d. 733. stravinsky always denied that this was a parody of the "marche militaire". he later called the whole piece a satire, the musical equivalent to henri de toulouse-lautrec's drawings, but his notes do not reflect this.