Book V: The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot
An iron pot proposedTo an earthen pot a journey.The latter was opposed,Expressing the concern heHad felt about the dangerOf going out a ranger.He thought the kitchen hearthThe safest place on earthFor one so very brittle.'For thee, who art a kettle,And hast a tougher skin,There's nought to keep thee in.''I'll be thy body-guard,'Replied the iron pot;'If anything that's hardShould threaten thee a jot,Between you I will go,And save thee from the blow.'This offer him persuaded.The iron pot paradedHimself as guard and guideClose at his cousin's side.Now, in their tripod way,They hobble as they may;And eke together boltAt every little jolt,--Which gives the crockery pain;But presently his comrade hitsSo hard, he dashes him to bits,Before he can complain.
Take care that you associateWith equals only, lest your fateBetween these pots should find its mate.
Words in this poem
- ranger n.
- One who ranges; a rover; sometimes, one who ranges for plunder; a roving robber.
- kettle n.
- A metallic vessel, with a wide mouth, often without a cover, used for heating and boiling water or other liguids. Kettle pins, ninepins; skittles. Shelton. [OE. ketel; cf. AS. cetel, cetil, cytel; akin to D. kjedel, G. kessel, OHG. chezzil, Icel. ketill, SW. kittel, Dan. kjedel, Goth. katils; all perh. fr. L. catill]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- tripod n.
- Any utensil or vessel, as a stool, table, altar, caldron, etc., supported on three feet. [L. tripus, -odis, Gr. Tri-) + Foot, and cf. Tripos, Trivet.]
- crockery n.
- Earthenware; vessels formed of baked clay, especially the coarser kinds. [From Crock an earthen vessel.]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book V: The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot 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 V: The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/5-2.html, id L28294.
Form and metre
Book V: The Earthen Pot and the Iron Pot is 33 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 A-A-BB----CCDEDEFFGGHHIIJJKLLK proposedA · journey · opposedA · he · dangerB · rangerB · hearth · earth · brittle · kettle · skinC · inC · guardD · potE · hardD · jotE · goF · blowF · persuadedG · paradedG · guideH · sideH · wayI · mayI · boltJ · joltJ · painK · hitsL · bitsL · complainK
- 2 AAA associateA · fateA · mateA
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| An iron pot proposed | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To an earthen pot a journey. | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| The latter was opposed, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Expressing the concern he | 7 | ˘/˘·˘/· |
| Had felt about the danger | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Of going out a ranger. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| He thought the kitchen hearth | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The safest place on earth | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For one so very brittle. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| 'For thee, who art a kettle, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And hast a tougher skin, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| There's nought to keep thee in.' | 6 | ······ |
| 'I'll be thy body-guard,' | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Replied the iron pot; | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| 'If anything that's hard | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Should threaten thee a jot, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Between you I will go, | 6 | ······ |
| And save thee from the blow.' | 6 | ······ |
| This offer him persuaded. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| The iron pot paraded | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Himself as guard and guide | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Close at his cousin's side. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Now, in their tripod way, | 6 | ···/·· |
| They hobble as they may; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And eke together bolt | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| At every little jolt,-- | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Which gives the crockery pain; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But presently his comrade hits | 7 | ·/˘·/·· |
| So hard, he dashes him to bits, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Before he can complain. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Take care that you associate | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| With equals only, lest your fate | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Between these pots should find its mate. | 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.