'Don't Look a Gift-Horse in the Mouth'
I knew a man who lived down South;He thought this maxim to defy;He looked a Gift-horse in the Mouth;The Gift-horse bit him in the Eye!And, while the steed enjoyed his bite,My Southern friend mislaid his sight.
Now, had this foolish man, that day,Observed the Gift-horse in the Heel,It might have kicked his brains away,But that's a loss he would not feel;Because, you see (need I explain?),My Southern friend has got no brain.
When any one to you presentsA poodle, or a pocket-knife,A set of Ping-pong instruments,A banjo or a lady-wife,'Tis churlish, as I understand,To grumble that they're second-hand.
And he who termed IngratitudeAs 'worser nor a servant's tooth'Was evidently well imbuedWith all the elements of Truth;(While he who said 'Uneasy liesThe tooth that wears a crown' was wise).
'One must be poor,' George Eliot said,'To know the luxury of giving';So too one really should be deadTo realise the joy of living.(I'd sooner be--I don't know which--I'd like to be alive and rich!)
This book may be a Gift-horse too,And one you surely ought to prize;If so, I beg you, read it through,With kindly and uncaptious eyes,Not grumbling because this particular line doesn't happen to scan,And this one doesn't rhyme!
Words in this poem
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- poodle n.
- A breed of dogs having curly hair, and often showing remarkable intelligence in the performance of tricks. [G. pudel.]
- ping n.
- The sound made by a bullet in striking a solid object or in passing through the air. [Probably of imitative origin.]
- banjo n.
- A stringed musical instrument having a head and neck like the guitar, and its body like a tambourine. It has five strings, and is played with the fingers and hands.
- grumble v. i.
- To murmur or mutter with discontent; to make ill-natured complaints in a low voice and a surly manner. [Cf. LG. grummeln, grumman, D. grommelen, grommen, and F. grommeler, of German origin; cf. W. grwm, murmur, grumble, surly. sq. root35. Cf. Grum, Grim.]
- ingratitude n.
- Want of gratitude; insensibility to, forgetfulness of, or ill return for, kindness or favors received; unthankfulness; ungratefulness. [F. ingratitude, L. ingratitudo. See Ingrate.]
- realise v. t.
- To make real; to convert from the imaginary or fictitious into the actual; to bring into concrete existence; to accomplish; as, to realize a scheme or project. [Cf. F. réaliser.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- scan v. t.
- To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Don't Look a Gift-Horse in the Mouth' is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verse and Worse, Project Gutenberg ebook #36702; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harry Graham, 'Don't Look a Gift-Horse in the Mouth', in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/don-t-look-a-gift-horse-in-the-mouth.html, id L23341.
Form and metre
'Don't Look a Gift-Horse in the Mouth' is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 ABABCC southA · defyB · mouthA · eyeB · biteC · sightC
- 2 ABABCC dayA · heelB · awayA · feelB · explainC · brainC
- 3 -A-ABB presents · knifeA · instruments · wifeA · understandB · handB
- 4 ABABCC ingratitudeA · toothB · imbuedA · truthB · liesC · wiseC
- 5 ABABCC saidA · givingB · deadA · livingB · whichC · richC
- 6 ABAB-- tooA · prizeB · throughA · eyesB · scan · rhyme
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I knew a man who lived down South; | 8 | ········ |
| He thought this maxim to defy; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| He looked a Gift-horse in the Mouth; | 8 | ········ |
| The Gift-horse bit him in the Eye! | 8 | ········ |
| And, while the steed enjoyed his bite, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My Southern friend mislaid his sight. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Now, had this foolish man, that day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Observed the Gift-horse in the Heel, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| It might have kicked his brains away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But that's a loss he would not feel; | 8 | ········ |
| Because, you see (need I explain?), | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My Southern friend has got no brain. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When any one to you presents | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A poodle, or a pocket-knife, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A set of Ping-pong instruments, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| A banjo or a lady-wife, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| 'Tis churlish, as I understand, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To grumble that they're second-hand. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And he who termed Ingratitude | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| As 'worser nor a servant's tooth' | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Was evidently well imbued | 8 | ·/˘˘˘·˘/ |
| With all the elements of Truth; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| (While he who said 'Uneasy lies | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The tooth that wears a crown' was wise). | 8 | ········ |
| 'One must be poor,' George Eliot said, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'To know the luxury of giving'; | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| So too one really should be dead | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To realise the joy of living. | 8 | ·/····/˘ |
| (I'd sooner be--I don't know which-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I'd like to be alive and rich!) | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| This book may be a Gift-horse too, | 8 | ········ |
| And one you surely ought to prize; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If so, I beg you, read it through, | 8 | ········ |
| With kindly and uncaptious eyes, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Not grumbling because this particular line doesn't happen to scan, | 16 | ·/˘···˘/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| And this one doesn't rhyme! | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.