The Parson's Case
That you, friend Marcus, like a stoic,Can wish to die in strains heroic,No real fortitude implies:Yet, all must own, thy wish is wise.Thy curate's place, thy fruitful wife,Thy busy, drudging scene of life,Thy insolent, illiterate vicar,Thy want of all-consoling liquor,Thy threadbare gown, thy cassock rent,Thy credit sunk, thy money spent,Thy week made up of fasting-days,Thy grate unconscious of a blaze,And to complete thy other curses,The quarterly demands of nurses,Are ills you wisely wish to leave,And fly for refuge to the grave;And, O, what virtue you express,In wishing such afflictions less!But, now, should Fortune shift the scene,And make thy curateship a dean:Or some rich benefice provide,To pamper luxury and pride;With labour small, and income great;With chariot less for use than state;With swelling scarf, and glossy gown,And license to reside in town:To shine where all the gay resort,At concerts, coffee-house, or court:And weekly persecute his graceWith visits, or to beg a place:With underlings thy flock to teach,With no desire to pray or preach;With haughty spouse in vesture fine,With plenteous meals and generous wine;Wouldst thou not wish, in so much ease,Thy years as numerous as thy days?
Words in this poem
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
- threadbare a.
- Worn to the naked thread; having the nap worn off; threadbare clothes.
- cassock n.
- A long outer garment formerly worn by men and women, as well as by soldiers as part of their uniform. [F. casaque, fr. It. casacca, perh. fr. L. casa cottage, in It., house; or of Slavic origin.]
- income n.
- A coming in; entrance; admittance; ingress; infusion.
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Parson's Case 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 Parson's Case, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/the-parson-s-case.html, id L24564.
Form and metre
The Parson's Case is 36 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFFF--GGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO-- stoicA · heroicA · impliesB · wiseB · wifeC · lifeC · vicarD · liquorD · rentE · spentE · daysF · blazeF · cursesF · nursesF · leave · grave · expressG · lessG · sceneH · deanH · provideI · prideI · greatJ · stateJ · gownK · townK · resortL · courtL · graceM · placeM · teachN · preachN · fineO · wineO · ease · days
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 |
|---|---|---|
| That you, friend Marcus, like a stoic, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Can wish to die in strains heroic, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| No real fortitude implies: | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Yet, all must own, thy wish is wise. | 8 | ········ |
| Thy curate's place, thy fruitful wife, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy busy, drudging scene of life, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Thy insolent, illiterate vicar, | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Thy want of all-consoling liquor, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Thy threadbare gown, thy cassock rent, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Thy credit sunk, thy money spent, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy week made up of fasting-days, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thy grate unconscious of a blaze, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And to complete thy other curses, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| The quarterly demands of nurses, | 9 | ·/˘˘˘/·/˘ |
| Are ills you wisely wish to leave, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And fly for refuge to the grave; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, O, what virtue you express, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| In wishing such afflictions less! | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| But, now, should Fortune shift the scene, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And make thy curateship a dean: | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Or some rich benefice provide, | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| To pamper luxury and pride; | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| With labour small, and income great; | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| With chariot less for use than state; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With swelling scarf, and glossy gown, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And license to reside in town: | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To shine where all the gay resort, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| At concerts, coffee-house, or court: | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And weekly persecute his grace | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| With visits, or to beg a place: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With underlings thy flock to teach, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| With no desire to pray or preach; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| With haughty spouse in vesture fine, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With plenteous meals and generous wine; | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| Wouldst thou not wish, in so much ease, | 8 | ········ |
| Thy years as numerous as thy days? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.