Now First Published
In pity to the empty'ng Town,Some God May Fair invented,When Nature would invite us down,To be by Art prevented.
What a corrupted taste is oursWhen milk maids in mock stateInstead of garlands made of FlowersAdorn their pails with plate.
So are the joys which Nature yieldsInverted in May Fair,In painted cloth we look for fields,And step in Booths for air.
Here a Dog dancing on his hamsAnd puppets mov'd by wire,Do far exceed your frisking lambs,Or song of feather'd quire.
Howe'er, such verse as yours I grantWould be but too inviting:Were fair Ardelia not my Aunt,Or were it Worsley's writing.
Words in this poem
- quire v. i.
- To sing in concert.
- inviting a.
- Alluring; tempting; as, an inviting amusement or prospect.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Now First Published 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, Now First Published, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/now-first-published.html, id L24491.
Form and metre
Now First Published is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB townA · inventedB · downA · preventedB
- 2 ABAB oursA · stateB · flowersA · plateB
- 3 ABAB yieldsA · fairB · fieldsA · airB
- 4 ABAB hamsA · wireB · lambsA · quireB
- 5 ABAB grantA · invitingB · auntA · writingB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In pity to the empty'ng Town, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Some God May Fair invented, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| When Nature would invite us down, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To be by Art prevented. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| What a corrupted taste is ours | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| When milk maids in mock state | 6 | ······ |
| Instead of garlands made of Flowers | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Adorn their pails with plate. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| So are the joys which Nature yields | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Inverted in May Fair, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| In painted cloth we look for fields, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And step in Booths for air. | 6 | ······ |
| Here a Dog dancing on his hams | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And puppets mov'd by wire, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Do far exceed your frisking lambs, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Or song of feather'd quire. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Howe'er, such verse as yours I grant | 8 | ········ |
| Would be but too inviting: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Were fair Ardelia not my Aunt, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Or were it Worsley's writing. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
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.