M.P. For Galway
How many sing of wars,Of Greek and Trojan jars--The butcheries of men!The Muse hath a "Perpetual Ruby Pen!"Dabbling with heroes and the blood they spill;But no one sings the manThat, like a pelican,Nourishes Pity with his tender Bill!
Thou Wilberforce of hacks!Of whites as well as blacks,Pyebald and dapple gray,Chestnut and bay--No poet's eulogy thy name adorns!But oxen, from the fens,Sheep--in their pens,Praise thee, and red cows with their winding horns!Thou art sung on brutal pipes!Drovers may curse thee,Knackers asperse thee,And sly M.P.'s bestow their cruel wipes;But the old horse neighs thee,And zebras praise thee,--Asses, I mean--that have as many stripes!
Hast thou not taught the Drover to forbear,In Smithfield's muddy, murderous, vile environ,--Staying his lifted bludgeon in the air!Bullocks don't wearOxide of iron!The cruel Jarvy thou hast summon'd oft,Enforcing mercy on the coarse Yahoo,That thought his horse the courser of the two--Whilst Swift smiled down aloft!--O worthy pair! for this, when ye inhabitBodies of birds--(if so the spirit shiftsFrom flesh to feather)--when the clown upliftsHis hands against the sparrow's nest, to grab it,--He shall not harm the MARTINS and the Swifts!
Ah! when Dean Swift was quick, how he enhanc'dThe horse!--and humbled biped man like Plato!But now he's dead, the charger is mischanc'd--Gone backward in the world--and not advanc'd,--Remember Cato!Swift was the horse's champion--not the King's,Whom Southey sings,Mounted on Pegasus--would he were thrown!He'll wear that ancient hackney to the bone,Like a mere clothes-horse airing royal things!Ah well-a-day! the ancients did not useTheir steeds so cruelly!--let it debar menFrom wanton rowelling and whip's abuse--Look at the ancients' Muse!Look at their Carmen!
O, Martin I how thine eyes--That one would think had put aside its lashes,--That can't bear gashesThro' any horse's side, must ache to spyThat horrid window fronting Fetter-lane,--For there's a nag the crows have pick'd for victual,Or some man painted in a bloody vein--Gods! is there no Horse-spital!That such raw shows must sicken the humane!Sure Mr. WhittleLoves thee but little,To let that poor horse linger in his pane!
O build a Brookes's Theatre for horses!O wipe away the national reproach--And find a decent Vulture for their corses!And in thy funeral trackFour sorry steeds shall follow in each coach!Steeds that confess "the luxury of wo!"True mourning steeds, in no extempore black,And many a wretched hackShall sorrow for thee,--sore with kick and blowAnd bloody gash--it is the Indian knack--(Save that the savage is his own tormentor)--Banting shall weep too in his sable scarf--The biped woe the quadruped shall enter,And Man and Horse go half and half,As if their griefs met in a common Centaur!
Words in this poem 28
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
- blacks n.
- The name of a kind of in used in copperplate printing, prepared from the charred husks of the grape, and residue of the wine press.
- dapple n.
- One of the spots on a dappled animal. [Cf. Icel. depill a spot, a dot, a dog with spots over the eyes, dapi a pool, and E. dimple.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- drover n.
- One who drives cattle or sheep to market; one who makes it his business to purchase cattle, and drive them to market.
- environ v. t.
- To surround; to encompass; to encircle; to hem in; to be round about; to involve or envelop. [F. environner, fr. environ about, thereabout; pref. en- (L. in) + OF. viron circle, circuit, fr. OF. & F. virer to turn, LL. virare to turn up and down, topsy-t]
- bludgeon n.
- A short stick, with one end loaded, or thicker and heavier that the other, used as an offensive weapon. [Cf. Ir. blocan a little block, Gael. plocan a mallet, W. plocyn, dim. of ploc block; or perh. connected with E. blow a stroke. Cf. Block, Blow a stroke.]
- jarvy n.
- The driver of a hackney coach. Carlyle.
- yahoo n.
- One of a race of filthy brutes in Swift's
- courser n.
- One who courses or hunts. [F. coursier.]
- grab n.
- A vessel used on the Malabar coast, having two or three masts. [Ar. & Hind. ghur crow, raven, a kind of Arab ship.]
- 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,]
- biped n.
- A two-footed animal, as man. [L. bipes; bis twice + pes, pedis, bipède.]
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
- airing n.
- A walk or a ride in the open air; a short excursion for health's sake.
- debar v. t.
- To cut off from entrance, as if by a bar or barrier; to preclude; to hinder from approach, entry, or enjoyment; to shut out or exclude; to deny or refuse; -- with from, and sometimes with of. [Pref. de- + bar.]
- ache n.
- A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- victual n.
- Food; -- now used chiefly in the plural. See Victuals. 2 Chron.
- sicken v. t.
- To make sick; to disease.
- humane a.
- Pertaining to man; human. Jer. Taylor. [L. humanus: cf. F. humain. See Human.]
- whittle n.
- A knife; esp., a pocket, sheath, or clasp knife. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pwitan to cut. Cf. Thwittle, Thwaite a piece of ground.]
- pane n.
- The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
- theatre n.
- An edifice in which dramatic performances or spectacles are exhibited for the amusement of spectators; anciently uncovered, except the stage, but in modern times roofed. [F. thé\'83tre, L. theatrum, Gr. dhya to meditate, think. Cf. Theory.]
- knack v. i.
- To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink. [Obs. or Prov. [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. G. knacken to break, Dan. knage to crack, and E. knock.]
- tormentor n.
- One who, or that which, torments; one who inflicts penal anguish or tortures. Jer. Taylor.
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- centaur n.
- A fabulous being, represented as half man and half horse.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
M.P. For Galway is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hood, M.P. For Galway, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/m-p-for-galway.html, id L20123.
Form and metre
M.P. For Galway is 79 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 --AAB-AB wars · jars · menA · penA · spillB · man · pelicanA · billB
- 2 AABBCDDCEFFEFFE hacksA · blacksA · grayB · bayB · adornsC · fensD · pensD · hornsC · pipesE · theeF · theeF · wipesE · theeF · theeF · stripesE
- 3 ABAABCDDCEF-EF forbearA · environB · airA · wearA · ironB · oftC · yahooD · twoD · aloftC · inhabitE · shiftsF · uplifts · itE · swiftsF
- 4 ABAABCCDDCEFEEF enhanc'dA · platoB · mischanc'dA · advanc'dA · catoB · king'sC · singsC · thrownD · boneD · thingsC · useE · menF · abuseE · museE · carmenF
- 5 AAA-B-BCBCCB eyesA · lashesA · gashesA · spy · laneB · victual · veinB · spitalC · humaneB · whittleC · littleC · paneB
- 6 ABACBDCCDCE-E-- horsesA · reproachB · corsesA · trackC · coachB · woD · blackC · hackC · blowD · knackC · tormentorE · scarf · enterE · half · centaur
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How many sing of wars, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of Greek and Trojan jars-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The butcheries of men! | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| The Muse hath a "Perpetual Ruby Pen!" | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Dabbling with heroes and the blood they spill; | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| But no one sings the man | 6 | ······ |
| That, like a pelican, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Nourishes Pity with his tender Bill! | 10 | /˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou Wilberforce of hacks! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of whites as well as blacks, | 6 | ······ |
| Pyebald and dapple gray, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Chestnut and bay-- | 4 | /··· |
| No poet's eulogy thy name adorns! | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| But oxen, from the fens, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sheep--in their pens, | 4 | ···· |
| Praise thee, and red cows with their winding horns! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thou art sung on brutal pipes! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Drovers may curse thee, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Knackers asperse thee, | 5 | ··˘/· |
| And sly M.P.'s bestow their cruel wipes; | 10 | ·····˘/·/· |
| But the old horse neighs thee, | 6 | ······ |
| And zebras praise thee,-- | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Asses, I mean--that have as many stripes! | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Hast thou not taught the Drover to forbear, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| In Smithfield's muddy, murderous, vile environ,-- | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Staying his lifted bludgeon in the air! | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Bullocks don't wear | 4 | /˘·· |
| Oxide of iron! | 5 | /··/˘ |
| The cruel Jarvy thou hast summon'd oft, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Enforcing mercy on the coarse Yahoo, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘···/· |
| That thought his horse the courser of the two-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whilst Swift smiled down aloft!-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| O worthy pair! for this, when ye inhabit | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Bodies of birds--(if so the spirit shifts | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| From flesh to feather)--when the clown uplifts | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| His hands against the sparrow's nest, to grab it,-- | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| He shall not harm the MARTINS and the Swifts! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Ah! when Dean Swift was quick, how he enhanc'd | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The horse!--and humbled biped man like Plato! | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| But now he's dead, the charger is mischanc'd-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Gone backward in the world--and not advanc'd,-- | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Remember Cato! | 5 | ˘/˘/˘ |
| Swift was the horse's champion--not the King's, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whom Southey sings, | 4 | ···· |
| Mounted on Pegasus--would he were thrown! | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| He'll wear that ancient hackney to the bone, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Like a mere clothes-horse airing royal things! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Ah well-a-day! the ancients did not use | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Their steeds so cruelly!--let it debar men | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| From wanton rowelling and whip's abuse-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| Look at the ancients' Muse! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Look at their Carmen! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| O, Martin I how thine eyes-- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| That one would think had put aside its lashes,-- | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| That can't bear gashes | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Thro' any horse's side, must ache to spy | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| That horrid window fronting Fetter-lane,-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| For there's a nag the crows have pick'd for victual, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Or some man painted in a bloody vein-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Gods! is there no Horse-spital! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That such raw shows must sicken the humane! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Sure Mr. Whittle | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Loves thee but little, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| To let that poor horse linger in his pane! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| O build a Brookes's Theatre for horses! | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| O wipe away the national reproach-- | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘˘/ |
| And find a decent Vulture for their corses! | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And in thy funeral track | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Four sorry steeds shall follow in each coach! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Steeds that confess "the luxury of wo!" | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| True mourning steeds, in no extempore black, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘· |
| And many a wretched hack | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Shall sorrow for thee,--sore with kick and blow | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And bloody gash--it is the Indian knack-- | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| (Save that the savage is his own tormentor)-- | 11 | ···/˘···/·˘ |
| Banting shall weep too in his sable scarf-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The biped woe the quadruped shall enter, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘·/˘ |
| And Man and Horse go half and half, | 8 | ········ |
| As if their griefs met in a common Centaur! | 11 | ·······/˘/· |
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.