Prologue to the Comedy of A Word to the Wise, Spoken by Mr. Hull
This night presents a play, which publick rage,Or right, or wrong, once hooted from the stage.From zeal or malice, now, no more we dread,For English vengeance wars not with the dead.A gen'rous foe regards, with pitying eye,The man whom fate has laid, where all must lie.To wit, reviving from its author's dust,Be kind, ye judges, or at least be just.For no renew'd hostilities invadeTh' oblivious grave's inviolable shade.Let one great payment ev'ry claim appease;And him, who cannot hurt, allow to please;To please by scenes, unconscious of offence,By harmless merriment, or useful sense.Where aught of bright, or fair, the piece displays,Approve it only--'tis too late to praise.If want of skill, or want of care appear,Forbear to hiss--the poet cannot hear.By all, like him, must praise and blame be found,At best a fleeting gleam, or empty sound.Yet, then, shall calm reflection bless the night,When lib'ral pity dignify'd delight;When pleasure fir'd her torch at virtue's flame,And mirth was bounty with an humbler name.
Words in this poem
- pitying a.
- Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word.
- oblivious a.
- Promoting oblivion; causing forgetfulness. [L.obliviosus: cf.F. oblivieux.]
- offence n.
- The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- 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,]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- humbler n.
- One who, or that which, humbles some one.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Prologue to the Comedy of A Word to the Wise, Spoken by Mr. Hull is in the public domain. This text is taken from Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 (The Works of Samuel Johnson in Nine Volumes, 1825), Project Gutenberg ebook #10835; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Johnson, Prologue to the Comedy of A Word to the Wise, Spoken by Mr. Hull, in Poems (1825), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10835, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-poems/prologue-to-the-comedy-of-a-word-to-the-wise-spoken-by-mr.html, id L27133.
Form and metre
Prologue to the Comedy of A Word to the Wise, Spoken by Mr. Hull is 24 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLL rageA · stageA · dreadB · deadB · eyeC · lieC · dustD · justD · invadeE · shadeE · appeaseF · pleaseF · offenceG · senseG · displaysH · praiseH · appearI · hearI · foundJ · soundJ · nightK · delightK · flameL · nameL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| This night presents a play, which publick rage, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Or right, or wrong, once hooted from the stage. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| From zeal or malice, now, no more we dread, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For English vengeance wars not with the dead. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| A gen'rous foe regards, with pitying eye, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| The man whom fate has laid, where all must lie. | 10 | ·········· |
| To wit, reviving from its author's dust, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Be kind, ye judges, or at least be just. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For no renew'd hostilities invade | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Th' oblivious grave's inviolable shade. | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘˘· |
| Let one great payment ev'ry claim appease; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And him, who cannot hurt, allow to please; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| To please by scenes, unconscious of offence, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| By harmless merriment, or useful sense. | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Where aught of bright, or fair, the piece displays, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Approve it only--'tis too late to praise. | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| If want of skill, or want of care appear, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Forbear to hiss--the poet cannot hear. | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘· |
| By all, like him, must praise and blame be found, | 10 | ·········· |
| At best a fleeting gleam, or empty sound. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Yet, then, shall calm reflection bless the night, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| When lib'ral pity dignify'd delight; | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| When pleasure fir'd her torch at virtue's flame, | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| And mirth was bounty with an humbler name. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
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