The Elephant; Or, the Parliament Man
Ere bribes convince you whom to choose,The precepts of Lord Coke peruse.Observe an elephant, says he,And let him like your member be:First take a man that's free from Gaul,For elephants have none at all;In flocks or parties he must keep;For elephants live just like sheep.Stubborn in honour he must be;For elephants ne'er bend the knee.Last, let his memory be sound,In which your elephant's profound;That old examples from the wiseMay prompt him in his noes and ayes.Thus the Lord Coke hath gravely writ,In all the form of lawyer's wit:And then, with Latin and all that,Shows the comparison is pat.Yet in some points my lord is wrong,One's teeth are sold, and t'other's tongue:Now, men of parliament, God knows,Are more like elephants of shows;Whose docile memory and senseAre turn'd to trick, to gather pence;To get their master half-a-crown,They spread the flag, or lay it down:Those who bore bulwarks on their backs,And guarded nations from attacks,Now practise every pliant gesture,Opening their trunk for every tester.Siam, for elephants so famed,Is not with England to be named:Their elephants by men are sold;Ours sell themselves, and take the gold.
Words in this poem
- convince v. t.
- To overpower; to overcome; to subdue or master. [L. convincere, -victum, to refute, prove; con- + vincere to conquer. See Victor, and cf. Convict.]
- peruse v. t.
- To observe; to examine with care. [Pref. per- + use.]
- 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.]
- gravely adv.
- In a grave manner.
- parliament n.
- A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
- docile a.
- Teachable; easy to teach; docible. [L. docilis,fr. docere to teach; cf. Gr. discere to learn, Gr. docile. Cf. Doctor, Didactic, Disciple.]
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- tester n.
- A headpiece; a helmet. [OE. testere a headpiece, helmet, OF. testiere, F. têtière a head covering, fr. OF. teste the head, F. tête, fr. L. testa an earthen pot, the skull. See Test a c]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Elephant; Or, the Parliament Man 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, The Elephant; Or, the Parliament Man, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/the-elephant-or-the-parliament-man.html, id L24541.
Form and metre
The Elephant; Or, the Parliament Man is 34 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 88% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII--JJKKLLMM--NNOO chooseA · peruseA · heB · beB · gaulC · allC · keepD · sheepD · beE · kneeE · soundF · profoundF · wiseG · ayesG · writH · witH · thatI · patI · wrong · tongue · knowsJ · showsJ · senseK · penceK · crownL · downL · backsM · attacksM · gesture · tester · famedN · namedN · soldO · goldO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ere bribes convince you whom to choose, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The precepts of Lord Coke peruse. | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| Observe an elephant, says he, | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| And let him like your member be: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| First take a man that's free from Gaul, | 8 | ········ |
| For elephants have none at all; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| In flocks or parties he must keep; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For elephants live just like sheep. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Stubborn in honour he must be; | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| For elephants ne'er bend the knee. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Last, let his memory be sound, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| In which your elephant's profound; | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| That old examples from the wise | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| May prompt him in his noes and ayes. | 8 | ········ |
| Thus the Lord Coke hath gravely writ, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In all the form of lawyer's wit: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And then, with Latin and all that, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shows the comparison is pat. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Yet in some points my lord is wrong, | 8 | ········ |
| One's teeth are sold, and t'other's tongue: | 8 | ········ |
| Now, men of parliament, God knows, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Are more like elephants of shows; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Whose docile memory and sense | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Are turn'd to trick, to gather pence; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To get their master half-a-crown, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They spread the flag, or lay it down: | 8 | ········ |
| Those who bore bulwarks on their backs, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And guarded nations from attacks, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Now practise every pliant gesture, | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Opening their trunk for every tester. | 9 | /˘···/˘/˘ |
| Siam, for elephants so famed, | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Is not with England to be named: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their elephants by men are sold; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Ours sell themselves, and take the gold. | 8 | /·˘/···· |
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