Clever Tom Clinch Going to Be Hanged. 1727
As clever Tom Clinch, while the rabble was bawling,Rode stately through Holborn to die in his calling,He stopt at the George for a bottle of sack,And promised to pay for it when he came back.His waistcoat, and stockings, and breeches, were white;His cap had a new cherry ribbon to tie't.The maids to the doors and the balconies ran,And said, "Lack-a-day, he's a proper young man!"But, as from the windows the ladies he spied,Like a beau in the box, he bow'd low on each side!And when his last speech the loud hawkers did cry,He swore from his cart, "It was all a damn'd lie!"The hangman for pardon fell down on his knee;Tom gave him a kick in the guts for his fee:Then said, I must speak to the people a little;But I'll see you all damn'd before I will whittle.My honest friend Wild (may he long hold his place)He lengthen'd my life with a whole year of grace.Take courage, dear comrades, and be not afraid,Nor slip this occasion to follow your trade;My conscience is clear, and my spirits are calm,And thus I go off, without prayer-book or psalm;Then follow the practice of clever Tom Clinch,Who hung like a hero, and never would flinch.
Words in this poem
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- whittle n.
- A knife; esp., a pocket, sheath, or clasp knife. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pwitan to cut. Cf. Thwittle, Thwaite a piece of ground.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Clever Tom Clinch Going to Be Hanged. 1727 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, Clever Tom Clinch Going to Be Hanged. 1727, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/clever-tom-clinch-going-to-be-hanged-1727.html, id L25613.
Form and metre
Clever Tom Clinch Going to Be Hanged. 1727 is 24 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic 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 AABB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK bawlingA · callingA · sackB · backB · white · tie't · ranC · manC · spiedD · sideD · cryE · lieE · kneeF · feeF · littleG · whittleG · placeH · graceH · afraidI · tradeI · calmJ · psalmJ · clinchK · flinchK
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| As clever Tom Clinch, while the rabble was bawling, | 12 | ·/˘····/˘·/˘ |
| Rode stately through Holborn to die in his calling, | 12 | ·/˘·······/˘ |
| He stopt at the George for a bottle of sack, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And promised to pay for it when he came back. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| His waistcoat, and stockings, and breeches, were white; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| His cap had a new cherry ribbon to tie't. | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| The maids to the doors and the balconies ran, | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| And said, "Lack-a-day, he's a proper young man!" | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| But, as from the windows the ladies he spied, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Like a beau in the box, he bow'd low on each side! | 12 | ············ |
| And when his last speech the loud hawkers did cry, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| He swore from his cart, "It was all a damn'd lie!" | 11 | ··········· |
| The hangman for pardon fell down on his knee; | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Tom gave him a kick in the guts for his fee: | 11 | ··········· |
| Then said, I must speak to the people a little; | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| But I'll see you all damn'd before I will whittle. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| My honest friend Wild (may he long hold his place) | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| He lengthen'd my life with a whole year of grace. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Take courage, dear comrades, and be not afraid, | 11 | ·/˘·/····˘/ |
| Nor slip this occasion to follow your trade; | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘·· |
| My conscience is clear, and my spirits are calm, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| And thus I go off, without prayer-book or psalm; | 11 | ··········· |
| Then follow the practice of clever Tom Clinch, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Who hung like a hero, and never would flinch. | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
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