Instans Tyrannus
Of the million or two, more or less,I rule and possess,One man, for some cause undefined,Was least to my mind.
I struck him; he groveled, of course--For what was his force?I pinned him to earth with my weightAnd persistence of hate;And he lay, would not moan, would not curse,As his lot might be worse.
"Were the object less mean, would he standAt the swing of my hand!For obscurity helps him and blotsThe hole where he squats."So I set my five wits on the stretchTo inveigle the wretch.All in vain! Gold and jewels I threw;Still he couched there perdue;I tempted his blood and his flesh,Hid in roses my mesh,Choicest cates and the flagon's best spilth;Still he kept to his filth.
Had he kith now or kin, were accessTo his heart, did I press;Just a son or a mother to seize!No such booty as these.Were it simply a friend to pursue'Mid my million or two,Who could pay me in person or pelfWhat he owes me himself!No; I could not but smile through my chafe;For the fellow lay safeAs his mates do, the midge and the nit--Through minuteness, to wit.
Then a humor more great took its placeAt the thought of his face,The droop, the low cares of the mouth,The trouble uncouth'Twixt the brows, all that air one is fainTo put out of its pain.And, "no!" I admonished myself,"Is one mocked by an elf,Is one baffled by toad or by rat?The gravamen's in that!How the lion, who crouches to suitHis back to my foot,Would admire that I stand in debate!But the small turns the greatIf it vexes you--that is the thing!Toad or rat vex the king?Though I waste half my realm to unearthToad or rat, 'tis well worth!"
So I soberly laid my last planTo extinguish the man.Round his creep-hole, with never a break,Ran my fires for his sake;Overhead, did my thunder combineWith my underground mine:Till I looked from my labor contentTo enjoy the event.
When sudden ... how think ye, the end?Did I say "without friend"?Say, rather, from marge to blue margeThe whole sky grew his targeWith the sun's self for visible boss,While an Arm ran acrossWhich the earth heaved beneath like a breastWhere the wretch was safe pressed!Do you see? Just my vengeance complete,The man sprang to his feet,Stood erect, caught at God's skirts, and prayed!--So, I was afraid!
Words in this poem
- inveigle v. t.
- To lead astray as if blind; to persuade to something evil by deceptive arts or flattery; to entice; to insnare; to seduce; to wheedle. [Prob. fr. F. aveugler to blind, to delude, OF. aveugler, avugler, avegler, fr. F. aveugle blind, OF. aveugle, avugle, properly, without eyes, fr. L. ab + oculus]
- perdue a.
- Lost to view; in concealment or ambush; close. [F. perdu, f. perdue, lost, p.p. of perdre to lose, L. perdere. See Perdition.]
- mesh n.
- The opening or space inclosed by the threads of a net between knot and knot, or the threads inclosing such a space; network; a net. [AS. masc, max, m; akin to D. maas, masche, OHG. masca, Icel. möskvi; cf. Lith. mazgas a knot, megsti to weave nets, to knot.]
- cates n.
- Provisions; food; viands; especially, luxurious food; delicacies; dainties. [Cf. Acates, and see Cater, n.]
- spilth n.
- Anything spilt, or freely poured out; slop; effusion. [From Spill.]
- kith n.
- Acquaintance; kindred. [OE. kith, cu, AS. cc known. Uncouth, Can, and cf. Kythe.]
- pelf n.
- Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.]
- midge n.
- Any one of many small, delicate, long-legged flies of the Chironomus, and allied genera, which do not bite. Their larvæ are usually aquatic.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- unearth v. t.
- To drive or draw from the earth; hence, to uncover; to bring out from concealment; to bring to light; to disclose; as, to unearth a secret. [1st pref. un- + earth.]
- soberly a.
- Grave; serious; solemn; sad.
- marge n.
- Border; margin; edge; verge. [F. marge. See Margin.]
- targe n.
- A shield or target. [F. Cf. Target.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Instans Tyrannus is in the public domain. This text is taken from Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning, Project Gutenberg ebook #28041; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Browning, Instans Tyrannus, in Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning (1864), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #28041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/browning-selections/instans-tyrannus.html, id L25130.
Form and metre
Instans Tyrannus is 72 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 AABB lessA · possessA · undefinedB · mindB
- 2 AABBCC courseA · forceA · weightB · hateB · curseC · worseC
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFF standA · handA · blotsB · squatsB · stretchC · wretchC · threwD · perdueD · fleshE · meshE · spilthF · filthF
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFF accessA · pressA · seizeB · theseB · pursueC · twoC · pelfD · himselfD · chafeE · safeE · nitF · witF
- 5 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII placeA · faceA · mouthB · uncouthB · fainC · painC · myselfD · elfD · ratE · thatE · suitF · footF · debateG · greatG · thingH · kingH · unearthI · worthI
- 6 AABBCCDD planA · manA · breakB · sakeB · combineC · mineC · contentD · eventD
- 7 AABBCCDDEEFF endA · friendA · margeB · targeB · bossC · acrossC · breastD · pressedD · completeE · feetE · prayedF · afraidF
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Of the million or two, more or less, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| I rule and possess, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| One man, for some cause undefined, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Was least to my mind. | 5 | ····· |
| I struck him; he groveled, of course-- | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| For what was his force? | 5 | ····· |
| I pinned him to earth with my weight | 8 | ········ |
| And persistence of hate; | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| And he lay, would not moan, would not curse, | 9 | ········· |
| As his lot might be worse. | 6 | ······ |
| "Were the object less mean, would he stand | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| At the swing of my hand! | 6 | ······ |
| For obscurity helps him and blots | 9 | ·˘/˘˘···· |
| The hole where he squats." | 5 | ····· |
| So I set my five wits on the stretch | 9 | ········· |
| To inveigle the wretch. | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| All in vain! Gold and jewels I threw; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Still he couched there perdue; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I tempted his blood and his flesh, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hid in roses my mesh, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Choicest cates and the flagon's best spilth; | 9 | /˘······· |
| Still he kept to his filth. | 6 | ······ |
| Had he kith now or kin, were access | 9 | ·······/· |
| To his heart, did I press; | 6 | ······ |
| Just a son or a mother to seize! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| No such booty as these. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Were it simply a friend to pursue | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| 'Mid my million or two, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Who could pay me in person or pelf | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| What he owes me himself! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| No; I could not but smile through my chafe; | 9 | ········· |
| For the fellow lay safe | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| As his mates do, the midge and the nit | 9 | ········· |
| --Through minuteness, to wit. | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| Then a humor more great took its place | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| At the thought of his face, | 6 | ······ |
| The droop, the low cares of the mouth, | 8 | ········ |
| The trouble uncouth | 5 | ·/˘// |
| 'Twixt the brows, all that air one is fain | 9 | ········· |
| To put out of its pain. | 6 | ······ |
| And, "no!" I admonished myself, | 8 | ···˘/˘·/ |
| "Is one mocked by an elf, | 6 | ······ |
| Is one baffled by toad or by rat? | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The gravamen's in that! | 6 | ······ |
| How the lion, who crouches to suit | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| His back to my foot, | 5 | ····· |
| Would admire that I stand in debate! | 9 | ·˘/····˘/ |
| But the small turns the great | 6 | ······ |
| If it vexes you--that is the thing! | 9 | ········· |
| Toad or rat vex the king? | 6 | ······ |
| Though I waste half my realm to unearth | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Toad or rat, 'tis well worth!" | 6 | ······ |
| So I soberly laid my last plan | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| To extinguish the man. | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| Round his creep-hole, with never a break, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Ran my fires for his sake; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Overhead, did my thunder combine | 9 | /˘/··/˘˘/ |
| With my underground mine: | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Till I looked from my labor content | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| To enjoy the event. | 6 | ·˘/·˘/ |
| When sudden ... how think ye, the end? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did I say "without friend"? | 6 | ······ |
| Say, rather, from marge to blue marge | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The whole sky grew his targe | 6 | ······ |
| With the sun's self for visible boss, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| While an Arm ran across | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Which the earth heaved beneath like a breast | 9 | ········· |
| Where the wretch was safe pressed! | 6 | ······ |
| Do you see? Just my vengeance complete, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| The man sprang to his feet, | 6 | ······ |
| Stood erect, caught at God's skirts, and prayed! | 9 | ·˘/······ |
| --So, I was afraid! | 5 | ···˘/ |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 5
Notes by Myra Reynolds, Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning (Project Gutenberg #28041).
- Stanza 2, line 2 What was his force? An ironic question. The man groveled because he was powerless to resist, and (line 10) because resistance might bring even worse punishment.
- Stanza 3, line 1 Were the object, etc. If the man could be made rich, if his life could be crowded with pleasures, if there could be found relatives or friends whom he loved, then there would be obvious ways of hurting him, he would stand forth in sufficient importance to make the swing of the tyrant's hand effective. But as it is, the man's poverty and friendlessness and meagerness of life render it difficult to find out vulnerable points of attack. He remains hidden (perdue) and, like the midge of the egg of an insect (nit), is safe through his very insignificance.
- Stanza 3, line 11 spilth. That which is poured out profusely. The flagon is a vessel with one handle and a long narrow neck or spout.
- Stanza 5, line 1 Then a humor, etc. The tyrant goes through various changes of mood in his attitude toward his enemy. In lines 35-43 he feels a moment of contemptuous compunction at the man's suffering, and recognizes the absurdity of a contest between a great king and a person as insignificant as a tricksy elf, a toad, or a rat. But in line 44 his mood turns. He perceives that the burden (gravamen) of the whole matter lies in the incredibly petty nature of this unconquerable, baffling opposition to his will. He sees how the situation would awaken the wonder of the great lords who abjectly obey his lightest word, but he concludes that, after all, the small becomes great if it vexes you.
- Stanza 6, line 1 I soberly, etc. Even the tyrant sees a kind of grotesque humor as he narrates first the elaborate plans to entrap and crush so seemingly powerless a foe, and then the striking reversal of position when the man proves to have God on his side, and the tyrant becomes the one to cower in fear.
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.