Book X: The Partridge and the Cocks
With a set of uncivil and turbulent cocks,That deserved for their noise to be put in the stocks,A partridge was placed to be rear'd.Her sex, by politeness revered,Made her hope, from a gentry devoted to love,For the courtesy due to the tenderest dove;Nay, protection chivalric from knights of the yard.That gentry, however, with little regardFor the honours and knighthood wherewith they were deck'd,And for the strange lady as little respect,Her ladyship often most horribly peck'd.At first, she was greatly afflicted therefor,But when she had noticed these madcaps at warWith each other, and dealing far bloodier blows,Consoling her own individual woes,--'Entail'd by their customs,' said she, 'is the shame;Let us pity the simpletons rather than blame.Our Maker creates not all spirits the same;The cocks and the partridges certainly differ,By a nature than laws of civility stiffer.Were the choice to be mine, I would finish my lifeIn society freer from riot and strife.But the lord of this soil has a different plan;His tunnel our race to captivity brings,He throws us with cocks, after clipping our wings.'Tis little we have to complain of but man.'
Words in this poem
- politeness n.
- High finish; smoothness; burnished elegance. Evelyn.
- gentry n.
- Birth; condition; rank by birth. [OE. genterie, gentrie, noble birth, nobility, cf. gentrise, and OF. gentelise, genterise, E. gentilesse, also OE. genteleri high-mindedness. See Gent, a., Gentl]
- chivalric a.
- Relating to chivalry; knightly; chivalrous. [See Chivalry.]
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- ladyship n.
- The rank or position of a lady; -- given as a title (preceded by her or your.) Your ladyship shall observe their gravity. B. Jonson.
- horribly adv.
- In a manner to excite horror; dreadfully; terribly.
- therefor adv.
- For that, or this; for it. [There + for. Cf. Therefore.]
- consoling a.
- Adapted to console or comfort; cheering; as, this is consoling news.
- civility n.
- The state of society in which the relations and duties of a citizen are recognized and obeyed; a state of civilization. [L. civilitas: cf. F. civilité. See Civil.]
- freer n.
- One who frees, or sets free.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- clipping n.
- The act of embracing.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book X: The Partridge and the Cocks is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Fables of La Fontaine, Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, the Elizur Wright translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean de La Fontaine, Book X: The Partridge and the Cocks, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/10-8.html, id L28408.
Form and metre
Book X: The Partridge and the Cocks is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic 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 AABBCCDDEEEFFGGHHHIIJJKLLK cocksA · stocksA · rear'dB · reveredB · loveC · doveC · yardD · regardD · deck'dE · respectE · peck'dE · thereforF · warF · blowsG · woesG · shameH · blameH · sameH · differI · stifferI · lifeJ · strifeJ · planK · bringsL · wingsL · manK
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| With a set of uncivil and turbulent cocks, | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| That deserved for their noise to be put in the stocks, | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| A partridge was placed to be rear'd. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her sex, by politeness revered, | 8 | ···˘/˘˘/ |
| Made her hope, from a gentry devoted to love, | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘·· |
| For the courtesy due to the tenderest dove; | 12 | ··/˘˘···/˘˘· |
| Nay, protection chivalric from knights of the yard. | 12 | ·˘/˘/˘˘····· |
| That gentry, however, with little regard | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| For the honours and knighthood wherewith they were deck'd, | 12 | ··/˘·/·˘/··· |
| And for the strange lady as little respect, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Her ladyship often most horribly peck'd. | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| At first, she was greatly afflicted therefor, | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| But when she had noticed these madcaps at war | 12 | ····/˘˘·/··· |
| With each other, and dealing far bloodier blows, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Consoling her own individual woes,-- | 11 | ˘/˘···˘/˘˘· |
| 'Entail'd by their customs,' said she, 'is the shame; | 11 | ˘/··/˘····· |
| Let us pity the simpletons rather than blame. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘·· |
| Our Maker creates not all spirits the same; | 12 | /˘/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| The cocks and the partridges certainly differ, | 12 | ····/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| By a nature than laws of civility stiffer. | 13 | ··/˘···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Were the choice to be mine, I would finish my life | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| In society freer from riot and strife. | 12 | ·˘/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| But the lord of this soil has a different plan; | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| His tunnel our race to captivity brings, | 12 | ·/˘/˘··˘/˘˘· |
| He throws us with cocks, after clipping our wings. | 12 | ·······/˘/˘· |
| 'Tis little we have to complain of but man.' | 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.