Book XII: The Lobster and Her Daughter
The wise, sometimes, as lobsters do,To gain their ends back foremost go.It is the rower's art; and thoseCommanders who mislead their foes,Do often seem to aim their sightJust where they don't intend to smite.My theme, so low, may yet applyTo one whose fame is very high,Who finds it not the hardest matterA hundred-headed league to scatter.What he will do, what leave undone,Are secrets with unbroken seals,Till victory the truth reveals.Whatever he would have unknownIs sought in vain. Decrees of FateForbid to check, at first, the courseWhich sweeps at last with torrent force.One Jove, as ancient fables state,Exceeds a hundred gods in weight.So Fate and Louis would seem ableThe universe to draw,Bound captive to their law.--But come we to our fable.A mother lobster did her daughter chide:'For shame, my daughter! can't you go ahead?''And how go you yourself?' the child replied;'Can I be but by your example led?Head foremost should I, singularly, wend,While all my race pursue the other end.'She spoke with sense: for better or for worse,Example has a universal force.To some it opens wisdom's door,But leads to folly many more.Yet, as for backing to one's aim,When properly pursuedThe art is doubtless good,At least in grim Bellona's game.
Words in this poem
- intend v. t.
- To stretch' to extend; to distend. [OE. entenden to be attentive, F. entendre, fr. L. intendre, intentum, and intensum, to intend, attend, stretch out, extend; pref. in- in + tendere to stretch, s]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- singularly adv.
- In a singular manner; in a manner, or to a degree, not common to others; extraordinarily; as, to be singularly exact in one's statements; singularly considerate of others.
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- backing n.
- The act of moving backward, or of putting or moving anything backward.
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book XII: The Lobster and Her Daughter 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 XII: The Lobster and Her Daughter, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/12-10.html, id L28436.
Form and metre
Book XII: The Lobster and Her Daughter is 37 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 --AABBCCDD-EE-FGGFFHIIHJKJKLL--MMN--N do · go · thoseA · foesA · sightB · smiteB · applyC · highC · matterD · scatterD · undone · sealsE · revealsE · unknown · fateF · courseG · forceG · stateF · weightF · ableH · drawI · lawI · fableH · chideJ · aheadK · repliedJ · ledK · wendL · endL · worse · force · doorM · moreM · aimN · pursued · good · gameN
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 wise, sometimes, as lobsters do, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| To gain their ends back foremost go. | 8 | ·····/·· |
| It is the rower's art; and those | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Commanders who mislead their foes, | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Do often seem to aim their sight | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Just where they don't intend to smite. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My theme, so low, may yet apply | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To one whose fame is very high, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Who finds it not the hardest matter | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| A hundred-headed league to scatter. | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| What he will do, what leave undone, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Are secrets with unbroken seals, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Till victory the truth reveals. | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| Whatever he would have unknown | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Is sought in vain. Decrees of Fate | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Forbid to check, at first, the course | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Which sweeps at last with torrent force. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| One Jove, as ancient fables state, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Exceeds a hundred gods in weight. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| So Fate and Louis would seem able | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| The universe to draw, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Bound captive to their law.-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But come we to our fable. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| A mother lobster did her daughter chide: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| 'For shame, my daughter! can't you go ahead?' | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| 'And how go you yourself?' the child replied; | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| 'Can I be but by your example led? | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Head foremost should I, singularly, wend, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| While all my race pursue the other end.' | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| She spoke with sense: for better or for worse, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Example has a universal force. | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| To some it opens wisdom's door, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But leads to folly many more. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Yet, as for backing to one's aim, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When properly pursued | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| The art is doubtless good, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| At least in grim Bellona's game. | 8 | ········ |
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.