Apollo's Edict Occasioned by "News from Parnassus"
Ireland is now our royal care,We lately fix'd our viceroy there.How near was she to be undone,Till pious love inspired her son!What cannot our vicegerent do,As poet and as patriot too?Let his success our subjects sway,Our inspirations to obey,And follow where he leads the way:Then study to correct your taste;Nor beaten paths be longer traced.No simile shall be begun,With rising or with setting sun;And let the secret head of NileBe ever banish'd from your isle.When wretched lovers live on air,I beg you'll the chameleon spare;And when you'd make a hero grander,Forget he's like a salamander.No son of mine shall dare to say,Aurora usher'd in the day,Or ever name the milky-way.You all agree, I make no doubt,Elijah's mantle is worn out.The bird of Jove shall toil no moreTo teach the humble wren to soar.Your tragic heroes shall not rant,Nor shepherds use poetic cant.Simplicity alone can graceThe manners of the rural race.Theocritus and Philips beYour guides to true simplicity.When Damon's soul shall take its flight,Though poets have the second-sight,They shall not see a trail of light.Nor shall the vapours upwards rise,Nor a new star adorn the skies:For who can hope to place one there,As glorious as Belinda's hair?Yet, if his name you'd eternize,And must exalt him to the skies;Without a star this may be done:So Tickell mourn'd his Addison.If Anna's happy reign you praise,Pray, not a word of halcyon days:Nor let my votaries show their skillIn aping lines from Cooper's Hill;For know I cannot bear to hearThe mimicry of "deep, yet clear."Whene'er my viceroy is address'd,Against the phoenix I protest.When poets soar in youthful strains,No Phaethon to hold the reins.When you describe a lovely girl,No lips of coral, teeth of pearl.Cupid shall ne'er mistake another,However beauteous, for his mother;Nor shall his darts at random flyFrom magazine in Celia's eye.With woman compounds I am cloy'd,Which only pleased in Biddy Floyd.For foreign aid what need they roam,Whom fate has amply blest at home?Unerring Heaven, with bounteous hand,Has form'd a model for your land,Whom Jove endued with every grace;The glory of the Granard race;Now destined by the powers divineThe blessing of another line.Then, would you paint a matchless dame,Whom you'd consign to endless fame?Invoke not Cytherea's aid,Nor borrow from the blue-eyed maid;Nor need you on the Graces call;Take qualities from Donegal.
Words in this poem 18
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- vicegerent a.
- Having or exercising delegated power; acting by substitution, or in the place of another. [Vice, a + gerent: cf. F. vicegérant.]
- simile n.
- A word or phrase by which anything is likened, in one or more of its aspects, to something else; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison. [L., from similis. See Similar.]
- 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,]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- aurora n.
- The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises. [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]
- 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.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- eternize v. t.
- To make eternal or endless. [Cf. F. éterniser.]
- cupid
- The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- biddy n.
- A name used in calling a hen or chicken. [Etymology uncertain.]
- amply adv.
- In an ample manner.
- unerring a.
- Committing no mistake; incapable or error or failure certain; sure; unfailing; as, the unerring wisdom of God.
- bounteous a.
- Liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; munificent; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts; as, bounteous production. [OE. bountevous, fr. bounte bounty.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- consign v. i.
- To submit; to surrender or yield one's self.
- borrow v. t.
- To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend. [OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. Borough.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Apollo's Edict Occasioned by "News from Parnassus" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #14353; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jonathan Swift, Apollo's Edict Occasioned by "News from Parnassus", in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/apollo-s-edict-occasioned-by-news-from-parnassus.html, id L24511.
Form and metre
Apollo's Edict Occasioned by "News from Parnassus" is 75 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 75% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AABBCCDDDEEFFGGHHIIJJJKKLLMMNN--OOOPPQQPPRRSSTTUUVVWWXXYYZZaabbccddeeffgghh careA · thereA · undoneB · sonB · doC · tooC · swayD · obeyD · wayD · tasteE · tracedE · begunF · sunF · nileG · isleG · airH · spareH · granderI · salamanderI · sayJ · dayJ · wayJ · doubtK · outK · moreL · soarL · rantM · cantM · graceN · raceN · be · simplicity · flightO · sightO · lightO · riseP · skiesP · thereQ · hairQ · eternizeP · skiesP · doneR · addisonR · praiseS · daysS · skillT · hillT · hearU · clearU · address'dV · protestV · strainsW · reinsW · girlX · pearlX · anotherY · motherY · flyZ · eyeZ · cloy'da · floyda · roamb · homeb · handc · landc · graced · raced · divinee · linee · damef · famef · aidg · maidg · callh · donegalh
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland is now our royal care, | 8 | /˘··//˘· |
| We lately fix'd our viceroy there. | 8 | ·/˘·//˘· |
| How near was she to be undone, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Till pious love inspired her son! | 8 | ·/·˘/˘·· |
| What cannot our vicegerent do, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| As poet and as patriot too? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Let his success our subjects sway, | 8 | ··˘///˘· |
| Our inspirations to obey, | 8 | /·˘/˘·˘/ |
| And follow where he leads the way: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then study to correct your taste; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Nor beaten paths be longer traced. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| No simile shall be begun, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| With rising or with setting sun; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And let the secret head of Nile | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Be ever banish'd from your isle. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| When wretched lovers live on air, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I beg you'll the chameleon spare; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And when you'd make a hero grander, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Forget he's like a salamander. | 9 | ˘/····˘/˘ |
| No son of mine shall dare to say, | 8 | ········ |
| Aurora usher'd in the day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or ever name the milky-way. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| You all agree, I make no doubt, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Elijah's mantle is worn out. | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| The bird of Jove shall toil no more | 8 | ········ |
| To teach the humble wren to soar. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Your tragic heroes shall not rant, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nor shepherds use poetic cant. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Simplicity alone can grace | 8 | ˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| The manners of the rural race. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Theocritus and Philips be | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Your guides to true simplicity. | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| When Damon's soul shall take its flight, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Though poets have the second-sight, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They shall not see a trail of light. | 8 | ········ |
| Nor shall the vapours upwards rise, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor a new star adorn the skies: | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| For who can hope to place one there, | 8 | ········ |
| As glorious as Belinda's hair? | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Yet, if his name you'd eternize, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| And must exalt him to the skies; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Without a star this may be done: | 8 | ········ |
| So Tickell mourn'd his Addison. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| If Anna's happy reign you praise, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Pray, not a word of halcyon days: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor let my votaries show their skill | 8 | ········ |
| In aping lines from Cooper's Hill; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For know I cannot bear to hear | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The mimicry of "deep, yet clear." | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Whene'er my viceroy is address'd, | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Against the phoenix I protest. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| When poets soar in youthful strains, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| No Phaethon to hold the reins. | 7 | ······· |
| When you describe a lovely girl, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| No lips of coral, teeth of pearl. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Cupid shall ne'er mistake another, | 9 | /˘··˘/˘/˘ |
| However beauteous, for his mother; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Nor shall his darts at random fly | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From magazine in Celia's eye. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With woman compounds I am cloy'd, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Which only pleased in Biddy Floyd. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For foreign aid what need they roam, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Whom fate has amply blest at home? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Unerring Heaven, with bounteous hand, | 9 | ˘/˘/·/˘˘· |
| Has form'd a model for your land, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whom Jove endued with every grace; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The glory of the Granard race; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Now destined by the powers divine | 8 | ·/˘··/˘/ |
| The blessing of another line. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Then, would you paint a matchless dame, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whom you'd consign to endless fame? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Invoke not Cytherea's aid, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| Nor borrow from the blue-eyed maid; | 8 | ·/······ |
| Nor need you on the Graces call; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Take qualities from Donegal. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
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