The Vain Jackdaw
Lest any one himself should plume,And on his neighbour's worth presume;But still let Nature's garb prevail--Esop has left this little tale:A Daw, ambitious and absurd,Pick'd up the quills of Juno's bird;And, with the gorgeous spoil adorn'd,All his own sable brethren scorn'd,And join'd the peacocks--who in scoffStripp'd the bold thief, and drove him off.The Daw, thus roughly handled, wentTo his own kind in discontent:But they in turn contemn the spark,And brand with many a shameful mark.Then one he formerly disdain'd,"Had you," said he, "at home remain'd--Content with Nature's ways and will,You had not felt the peacock's bill;Nor 'mongst the birds of your own dressHad been deserted in distress."
Words in this poem
- presume v. t.
- To assume or take beforehand; esp., to do or undertake without leave or authority previously obtained. [F. présumer, L. praesumere, praesumptum; prae before + sumere to take. See Assume, Redeem.]
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- gorgeous a.
- Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- contemn v. t.
- To view or treat with contempt, as mean and despicable; to reject with disdain; to despise; to scorn. [L. contemnere, -temptum; con- + temnere to slight, despise: cf. OF. contemner.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Vain Jackdaw is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Fables of Phædrus Literally translated into English prose with notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #25512; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Phaedrus, The Vain Jackdaw, in The Fables of Phaedrus (1765), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #25512, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/phaedrus-fables/the-vain-jackdaw.html, id L21236.
Form and metre
The Vain Jackdaw is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ plumeA · presumeA · prevailB · taleB · absurdC · birdC · adorn'dD · scorn'dD · scoffE · offE · wentF · discontentF · sparkG · markG · disdain'dH · remain'dH · willI · billI · dressJ · distressJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lest any one himself should plume, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And on his neighbour's worth presume; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| But still let Nature's garb prevail-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Esop has left this little tale: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A Daw, ambitious and absurd, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Pick'd up the quills of Juno's bird; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And, with the gorgeous spoil adorn'd, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| All his own sable brethren scorn'd, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And join'd the peacocks--who in scoff | 8 | ···/···· |
| Stripp'd the bold thief, and drove him off. | 8 | ········ |
| The Daw, thus roughly handled, went | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To his own kind in discontent: | 8 | ·····˘˘/ |
| But they in turn contemn the spark, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And brand with many a shameful mark. | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Then one he formerly disdain'd, | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| "Had you," said he, "at home remain'd-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Content with Nature's ways and will, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| You had not felt the peacock's bill; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Nor 'mongst the birds of your own dress | 8 | ········ |
| Had been deserted in distress." | 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.