Epigram
As Thomas was cudgell'd one day by his wife,He took to the street, and fled for his life:Tom's three dearest friends came by in the squabble,And saved him at once from the shrew and the rabble;Then ventured to give him some sober advice--But Tom is a person of honour so nice,Too wise to take counsel, too proud to take warning,That he sent to all three a challenge next morning.Three duels he fought, thrice ventur'd his life;Went home, and was cudgell'd again by his wife.
Words in this poem
- squabble v. i.
- To contend for superiority in an unseemly maner; to scuffle; to struggle; to wrangle; to quarrel. [Cf. dial. Sw. skvabbel a dispute, skvappa to chide.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epigram 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, Epigram, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/epigram.html, id L24599.
Form and metre
Epigram is 10 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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 AA--BBCCAA wifeA · lifeA · squabble · rabble · adviceB · niceB · warningC · morningC · lifeA · wifeA
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 Thomas was cudgell'd one day by his wife, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| He took to the street, and fled for his life: | 10 | ·········· |
| Tom's three dearest friends came by in the squabble, | 11 | ··/˘·····/˘ |
| And saved him at once from the shrew and the rabble; | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Then ventured to give him some sober advice-- | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘/ |
| But Tom is a person of honour so nice, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Too wise to take counsel, too proud to take warning, | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| That he sent to all three a challenge next morning. | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| Three duels he fought, thrice ventur'd his life; | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Went home, and was cudgell'd again by his wife. | 11 | ······˘/··· |
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.