The Politician or the Irish Earldom
A strong and striking Personality,Worth several hundred thousand pounds--Of strict political Morality--Was walking in his park-like Grounds;When, just as these began to pall on him(I mean the Trees, and Things like that),A Person who had come to call on himApproached him, taking off his Hat.
He said, with singular veracity:“I serve our Sea-girt Mother-LandIn no conspicuous capacity.I am but an Attorney; andI do a little elementaryNegotiation, now and then,As Agent for a ParliamentaryDivision of the Town of N....
“Merely as one of the Electorate--A member of the Commonweal--Before completing my Directorate,I want to know the way you feelOn matters more or less debatable;As--whether our Imperial PrideCan treat as taxable or rateableThe Gardens of....” His host replied:
“The Ravages of Inebriety(Alas! increasing day by day!)Are undermining all Society.I do not hesitate to sayMy country squanders her abilities,Observe how Montenegro treatsHer Educational Facilities....... As to the African defeats,
“I bitterly deplored their frequency;On Canada we are agreed,The Laws protecting Public DecencyAre very, very lax indeed!The Views of most of the NobilityAre very much the same as mine,On Thingumbob’s eligibility....I trust that you remain to dine?”
His Lordship pressed with importunity,As rarely he had pressed before.
It gave them both an opportunityTo know each other’s value more.
Words in this poem
- singular a.
- Separate or apart from others; single; distinct. [OE. singuler, F. singulier, fr. L. singularius, singularis, fr. singulus single. See Single, a.]
- attorney n.
- A substitute; a proxy; an agent. [OE. aturneye, OF. atorné, p. p. of atorner: cf. LL. atturnatus, attornatus, fr. attornare. See Attorn.]
- electorate n.
- The territory, jurisdiction, or dignity of an elector, as in the old German empire. [Cf. F. électorat.]
- directorate n.
- The office of director; also, a body of directors taken jointly. [Cf. F. directorat.]
- debatable a.
- Liable to be debated; disputable; subject to controversy or contention; open to question or dispute; as, a debatable question. [Cf. OF. debatable. See Debate.]
- taxable a.
- Capable of being taxed; liable by law to the assessment of taxes; as, taxable estate; taxable commodities.
- inebriety n.
- Drunkenness; inebriation. E. Darwin. [See Inebriate, Ebriety.]
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- eligibility n.
- The quality of being eligible; eligibleness; as, the eligibility of a candidate; the eligibility of an offer of marriage. [Cf. F. éligibilité.]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Politician or the Irish Earldom is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #60663; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Hilaire Belloc, The Politician or the Irish Earldom, in Sonnets and Verse (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/belloc-sonnets-verse/the-politician-or-the-irish-earldom.html, id L21673.
Form and metre
The Politician or the Irish Earldom is 44 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-ABCBC personality · poundsA · morality · groundsA · himB · thatC · himB · hatC
- 2 ABAB-C-C veracityA · landB · capacityA · andB · elementary · thenC · parliamentary · nC
- 3 ABABBC-C electorateA · commonwealB · directorateA · feelB · debatableB · prideC · rateable · repliedC
- 4 ABABCDCD inebrietyA · dayB · societyA · sayB · abilitiesC · treatsD · facilitiesC · defeatsD
- 5 -A-A-B-B frequency · agreedA · decency · indeedA · nobility · mineB · eligibility · dineB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A strong and striking Personality, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Worth several hundred thousand pounds-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Of strict political Morality-- | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Was walking in his park-like Grounds; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When, just as these began to pall on him | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| (I mean the Trees, and Things like that), | 8 | ········ |
| A Person who had come to call on him | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Approached him, taking off his Hat. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| He said, with singular veracity: | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘˘ |
| “I serve our Sea-girt Mother-Land | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| In no conspicuous capacity. | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| I am but an Attorney; and | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| I do a little elementary | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Negotiation, now and then, | 8 | ˘·˘/˘··· |
| As Agent for a Parliamentary | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Division of the Town of N.... | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| “Merely as one of the Electorate-- | 9 | /˘····˘/˘ |
| A member of the Commonweal-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Before completing my Directorate, | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| I want to know the way you feel | 8 | ········ |
| On matters more or less debatable; | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| As--whether our Imperial Pride | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Can treat as taxable or rateable | 9 | ···/˘·/˘˘ |
| The Gardens of....” His host replied: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| “The Ravages of Inebriety | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| (Alas! increasing day by day!) | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Are undermining all Society. | 9 | ·/˘·˘·˘/˘ |
| I do not hesitate to say | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My country squanders her abilities, | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Observe how Montenegro treats | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| Her Educational Facilities.... | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| ... As to the African defeats, | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| “I bitterly deplored their frequency; | 9 | ·/˘˘/·/˘˘ |
| On Canada we are agreed, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| The Laws protecting Public Decency | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Are very, very lax indeed! | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The Views of most of the Nobility | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Are very much the same as mine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On Thingumbob’s eligibility.... | 9 | ·····˘˘/˘ |
| I trust that you remain to dine?” | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| His Lordship pressed with importunity, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| As rarely he had pressed before. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It gave them both an opportunity | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| To know each other’s value more. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
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