Book VIII: The Joker and the Fishes
Some seek for jokers; I avoid.A joke must be, to be enjoy'd,Of wisdom's words, by wit employ'd.God never meant for men of sense,The wits that joke to give offence.
Perchance of these I shall be ableTo show you one preserved in fable.A joker at a banker's table,Most amply spread to satisfyThe height of epicurean wishes,Had nothing near but little fishes.So, taking several of the fry,He whisper'd to them very nigh,And seem'd to listen for reply.The guests much wonder'd what it meant,And stared upon him all intent.The joker, then with sober face,Politely thus explain'd the case:'A friend of mine, to India bound,Has been, I fear,Within a year,By rocks or tempests wreck'd and drown'd.I ask'd these strangers from the seaTo tell me where my friend might be.But all replied they were too youngTo know the least of such a matter--The older fish could tell me better.Pray, may I hear some older tongue?'What relish had the gentlefolksFor such a sample of his jokes,Is more than I can now relate.They put, I'm sure, upon his plate,A monster of so old a date,He must have known the names and fateOf all the daring voyagers,Who, following the moon and stars,Have, by mischances, sunk their bones,Within the realms of Davy Jones;And who, for centuries, had seen,Far down, within the fathomless,Where whales themselves are sceptreless,The ancients in their halls of green.
Words in this poem
- avoid v. t.
- To empty. Wyclif. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]
- 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.]
- 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,]
- amply adv.
- In an ample manner.
- epicurean a.
- Pertaining to Epicurus, or following his philosophy. [L. Epicureus, Gr. épicurien.]
- politely adv.
- In a polished manner; so as to be smooth or glossy.
- gentlefolks n.
- Persons of gentle or good family and breeding. Etym: [Generally in the United States in the plural form.]
- fathomless a.
- Incapable of being fathomed; immeasurable; that can not be sounded.
- sceptreless a.
- Having no scepter; without authority; powerless; as, a scepterless king.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book VIII: The Joker and the Fishes 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 VIII: The Joker and the Fishes, in The Fables of La Fontaine (1841), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7241, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/la-fontaine-fables/8-8.html, id L28362.
Form and metre
Book VIII: The Joker and the Fishes is 42 lines in 2 stanzas. 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 AAABB avoidA · enjoy'dA · employ'dA · senseB · offenceB
- 2 AAAB--BBBCCDDEFFEGGH--HIIJJJJ--KKLMML ableA · fableA · tableA · satisfyB · wishes · fishes · fryB · nighB · replyB · meantC · intentC · faceD · caseD · boundE · fearF · yearF · drown'dE · seaG · beG · youngH · matter · better · tongueH · gentlefolksI · jokesI · relateJ · plateJ · dateJ · fateJ · voyagers · stars · bonesK · jonesK · seenL · fathomlessM · sceptrelessM · greenL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Some seek for jokers; I avoid. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A joke must be, to be enjoy'd, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of wisdom's words, by wit employ'd. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| God never meant for men of sense, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The wits that joke to give offence. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Perchance of these I shall be able | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| To show you one preserved in fable. | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| A joker at a banker's table, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Most amply spread to satisfy | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The height of epicurean wishes, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Had nothing near but little fishes. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| So, taking several of the fry, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| He whisper'd to them very nigh, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And seem'd to listen for reply. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The guests much wonder'd what it meant, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And stared upon him all intent. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The joker, then with sober face, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Politely thus explain'd the case: | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| 'A friend of mine, to India bound, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Has been, I fear, | 4 | ···· |
| Within a year, | 4 | ···· |
| By rocks or tempests wreck'd and drown'd. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I ask'd these strangers from the sea | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To tell me where my friend might be. | 8 | ········ |
| But all replied they were too young | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| To know the least of such a matter-- | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The older fish could tell me better. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Pray, may I hear some older tongue?' | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What relish had the gentlefolks | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For such a sample of his jokes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is more than I can now relate. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| They put, I'm sure, upon his plate, | 8 | ········ |
| A monster of so old a date, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He must have known the names and fate | 8 | ········ |
| Of all the daring voyagers, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Who, following the moon and stars, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Have, by mischances, sunk their bones, | 8 | ········ |
| Within the realms of Davy Jones; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And who, for centuries, had seen, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Far down, within the fathomless, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Where whales themselves are sceptreless, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The ancients in their halls of green. | 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.