Fable
The mountain and the squirrelHad a quarrel,And the former called the latter 'Little Prig;Bun replied,'You are doubtless very big;But all sorts of things and weatherMust be taken in together,To make up a yearAnd a sphere.And I think it no disgraceTo occupy my place.If I'm not so large as you,You are not so small as I,And not half so spry.I'll not deny you makeA very pretty squirrel track;Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;If I cannot carry forests on my back,Neither can you crack a nut.'
Words in this poem
- prig v. i.
- To haggle about the price of a commodity; to bargain hard. [A modification of prick.]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- spry a.
- Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active. [U.S. [Cf. dial. Sw. sprygg lively, skittish, and E. sprag.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fable is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Household Edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #12843; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fable, in Poems (1847), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12843, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/emerson-poems/fable.html, id L07401.
Form and metre
Fable is 19 lines in a single stanza. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 26% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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-ABBCCDD-EE-F-F- squirrel · quarrel · prigA · replied · bigA · weatherB · togetherB · yearC · sphereC · disgraceD · placeD · you · iE · spryE · make · trackF · put · backF · nut
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The mountain and the squirrel | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Had a quarrel, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| And the former called the latter 'Little Prig; | 11 | ··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Bun replied, | 3 | ·˘/ |
| 'You are doubtless very big; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| But all sorts of things and weather | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Must be taken in together, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| To make up a year | 5 | ····· |
| And a sphere. | 3 | ··· |
| And I think it no disgrace | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| To occupy my place. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| If I'm not so large as you, | 7 | ······· |
| You are not so small as I, | 7 | ······· |
| And not half so spry. | 5 | ····· |
| I'll not deny you make | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| A very pretty squirrel track; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Talents differ; all is well and wisely put; | 11 | /˘/˘····/˘· |
| If I cannot carry forests on my back, | 11 | ··/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Neither can you crack a nut.' | 7 | /˘····· |
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.