The Introduction
Speak, Satire, for there's none can tell like thee,Whether 'tis folly, pride, or knavery,That makes this discontented land appearLess happy now in times of peace, than war:Why civil feuds disturb the nation more,Than all our bloody wars have done before.
Fools out of favour grudge at knaves in place,And men are always honest in disgrace:The court preferments make men knaves in course:But they which wou'd be in them wou'd be worse.'Tis not at foreigners that we repine,Wou'd foreigners their perquisites resign:The grand contention's plainly to be seen,To get some men put out, and some put in.For this our Senators make long harangues.And florid Ministers whet their polish'd tongues.Statesmen are always sick of one disease;And a good pension gives them present ease.That's the specific makes them all contentWith any King and any government.Good patriots at court abuses rail,And all the nation's grievances bewail:But when the sov'reign balsam's once apply'd,The zealot never fails to change his side;And when he must the golden key resign,The railing spirit comes about again.
Who shall this bubbl'd nation disabuse,While they their own felicities refuse?Who at the wars have made such mighty pother,And now are falling out with one another:With needless fears the jealous nations fill,And always have been sav'd against their will:Who fifty millions sterling have disburs'dTo be with peace, and too much plenty, curs'd;Who their old monarch eagerly undo,And yet uneasily obey the new.Search, Satire, search; a deep incision make:The poison's strong, the antidote's too weak.'Tis pointed truth must manage this dispute,And down-right English, Englishmen confute.
Whet thy just anger at the nation's pride;And with keen phrase repel the vicious tide,To Englishmen their own beginnings show,And ask them, why they slight their neighbours so:Go back to elder times, and ages past,And nations into long oblivion cast;To elder Britain's youthful days retire,And there for true-born Englishmen inquire,Britannia freely will disown the name,And hardly knows herself from whence they came;Wonders that they of all men should pretendTo birth, and blood, and for a name contend.Go back to causes where our follies dwell,And fetch the dark original from hell:Speak, Satire, for there's none like thee can tell.
Words in this poem
- knavery n.
- The practices of a knave; petty villainy; fraud; trickery; a knavish action.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- repine v. i.
- To fail; to wane. [Pref. re- + pine to languish.]
- whet v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- disabuse v. t.
- To set free from mistakes; to undeceive; to disengage from fallacy or deception; to set right. [Pref. dis- + abuse; cf. F. désabuser.]
- pother n.
- Bustle; confusion; tumult; flutter; bother. [Cf. D. peuteren to rummage, poke. Cf. Potter, Pudder.]
- needless a.
- Having no need.
- uneasily adv.
- In an uneasy manner.
- oblivion n.
- The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]
- britannia n.
- A white-metal alloy of tin, antimony, bismuth, copper, etc. It somewhat resembles silver, and isused for table ware. Called also Britannia metal. [From L. Britannia Great Britain.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Introduction is in the public domain. This text is taken from The True-Born Englishman: A Satire, Project Gutenberg ebook #30159; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Daniel Defoe, The Introduction, in The True-Born Englishman (1701), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #30159, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/defoe-true-born-englishman/the-introduction.html, id L27562.
Form and metre
The Introduction is 55 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 65% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 ---AAA thee · knavery · appear · warA · moreA · beforeA
- 2 AA---B-B--CC--DD--B- placeA · disgraceA · course · worse · repine · resignB · seen · inB · harangues · tongues · diseaseC · easeC · content · government · railD · bewailD · apply'd · side · resignB · again
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFFGG disabuseA · refuseA · potherB · anotherB · fillC · willC · disburs'dD · curs'dD · undoE · newE · makeF · weakF · disputeG · confuteG
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFFGGG prideA · tideA · showB · soB · pastC · castC · retireD · inquireD · nameE · cameE · pretendF · contendF · dwellG · hellG · tellG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Speak, Satire, for there's none can tell like thee, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Whether 'tis folly, pride, or knavery, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| That makes this discontented land appear | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Less happy now in times of peace, than war: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Why civil feuds disturb the nation more, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Than all our bloody wars have done before. | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| Fools out of favour grudge at knaves in place, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And men are always honest in disgrace: | 10 | ···/·/˘·˘/ |
| The court preferments make men knaves in course: | 10 | ·········· |
| But they which wou'd be in them wou'd be worse. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Tis not at foreigners that we repine, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| Wou'd foreigners their perquisites resign: | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘˘/ |
| The grand contention's plainly to be seen, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| To get some men put out, and some put in. | 10 | ·········· |
| For this our Senators make long harangues. | 10 | ··//˘˘··˘/ |
| And florid Ministers whet their polish'd tongues. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Statesmen are always sick of one disease; | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| And a good pension gives them present ease. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| That's the specific makes them all content | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| With any King and any government. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Good patriots at court abuses rail, | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| And all the nation's grievances bewail: | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| But when the sov'reign balsam's once apply'd, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The zealot never fails to change his side; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And when he must the golden key resign, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The railing spirit comes about again. | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Who shall this bubbl'd nation disabuse, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| While they their own felicities refuse? | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Who at the wars have made such mighty pother, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| And now are falling out with one another: | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| With needless fears the jealous nations fill, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And always have been sav'd against their will: | 10 | ·/········ |
| Who fifty millions sterling have disburs'd | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To be with peace, and too much plenty, curs'd; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Who their old monarch eagerly undo, | 10 | ···/·/˘˘˘/ |
| And yet uneasily obey the new. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| Search, Satire, search; a deep incision make: | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| The poison's strong, the antidote's too weak. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Tis pointed truth must manage this dispute, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And down-right English, Englishmen confute. | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Whet thy just anger at the nation's pride; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And with keen phrase repel the vicious tide, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| To Englishmen their own beginnings show, | 10 | ··/˘··˘/˘· |
| And ask them, why they slight their neighbours so: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Go back to elder times, and ages past, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And nations into long oblivion cast; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| To elder Britain's youthful days retire, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And there for true-born Englishmen inquire, | 10 | ······/˘˘/ |
| Britannia freely will disown the name, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| And hardly knows herself from whence they came; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Wonders that they of all men should pretend | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| To birth, and blood, and for a name contend. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Go back to causes where our follies dwell, | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| And fetch the dark original from hell: | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Speak, Satire, for there's none like thee can tell. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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.