The Puppet-Show
The life of man to represent,And turn it all to ridicule,Wit did a puppet-show invent,Where the chief actor is a fool.
The gods of old were logs of wood,And worship was to puppets paid;In antic dress the idol stood,And priest and people bow'd the head.
No wonder then, if art beganThe simple votaries to frame,To shape in timber foolish man,And consecrate the block to fame.
From hence poetic fancy learn'dThat trees might rise from human forms;The body to a trunk be turn'd,And branches issue from the arms.
Thus Dædalus and Ovid too,That man's a blockhead, have confest:Powel and Stretch the hint pursue;Life is a farce, the world a jest.
The same great truth South Sea has provedOn that famed theatre, the alley;Where thousands, by directors movedAre now sad monuments of folly.
What Momus was of old to Jove,The same a Harlequin is now;The former was buffoon above,The latter is a Punch below.
This fleeting scene is but a stage,Where various images appear;In different parts of youth and age,Alike the prince and peasant share.
Some draw our eyes by being great,False pomp conceals mere wood within;And legislators ranged in stateAre oft but wisdom in machine.
A stock may chance to wear a crown,And timber as a lord take place;A statue may put on a frown,And cheat us with a thinking face.
Others are blindly led away,And made to act for ends unknown;By the mere spring of wires they play,And speak in language not their own.
Too oft, alas! a scolding wifeUsurps a jolly fellow's throne;And many drink the cup of life,Mix'd and embitter'd by a Joan.
In short, whatever men pursue,Of pleasure, folly, war, or love:This mimic race brings all to view:Alike they dress, they talk, they move.
Go on, great Stretch, with artful hand,Mortals to please and to deride;And, when death breaks thy vital band,Thou shalt put on a puppet's pride.
Thou shalt in puny wood be shown,Thy image shall preserve thy fame;Ages to come thy worth shall own,Point at thy limbs, and tell thy name.
Tell Tom, he draws a farce in vain,Before he looks in nature's glass;Puns cannot form a witty scene,Nor pedantry for humour pass.
To make men act as senseless wood,And chatter in a mystic strain,Is a mere force on flesh and blood,And shows some error in the brain.
He that would thus refine on thee,And turn thy stage into a school,The jest of Punch will ever be,And stand confest the greater fool.
Words in this poem 16
- invent v. t.
- To come or light upon; to meet; to find. [L. inventus, p. p. of invenire to come upon, to find, invent; pref. in- in + venire to come, akin to E. come: cf. F. inventer. See Come.]
- antic v. t.
- To make appear like a buffoon.
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- theatre n.
- An edifice in which dramatic performances or spectacles are exhibited for the amusement of spectators; anciently uncovered, except the stage, but in modern times roofed. [F. thé\'83tre, L. theatrum, Gr. dhya to meditate, think. Cf. Theory.]
- momus n.
- The god of mockery and censure.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
- artful a.
- Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill. [From Art.]
- deride v. t.
- To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at. [L. deridere, derisum; de- + rid to laugh. See Ridicule.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- puny a.
- Imperfectly developed in size or vigor; small and feeble; inferior; petty. [F. puîté younger, later born, OF. puisné; puis afterwards (L. post; see Post-) + né born, L. natus. See Natal, and cf. Puisne.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- witty a.
- Possessed of wit; knowing; wise; skillful; judicious; clever; cunning. [AS. witig, wittig. See Wit, n.]
- pedantry n.
- The act, character, or manners of a pedant; vain ostentation of learning. [Cf. F. pédanterie.]
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Puppet-Show 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 Puppet-Show, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/the-puppet-show.html, id L24538.
Form and metre
The Puppet-Show is 72 lines in 18 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 12 of its 18 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See 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 ABAB representA · ridiculeB · inventA · foolB
- 2 A-A- woodA · paid · stoodA · head
- 3 ABAB beganA · frameB · manA · fameB
- 4 A-A- learn'dA · forms · turn'dA · arms
- 5 ABAB tooA · confestB · pursueA · jestB
- 6 A-A- provedA · alley · movedA · folly
- 8 ABAB stageA · appearB · ageA · shareB
- 9 A-A- greatA · within · stateA · machine
- 10 ABAB crownA · placeB · frownA · faceB
- 11 ABAB awayA · unknownB · playA · ownB
- 12 ABAB wifeA · throneB · lifeA · joanB
- 13 ABAB pursueA · loveB · viewA · moveB
- 14 ABAB handA · derideB · bandA · prideB
- 15 ABAB shownA · fameB · ownA · nameB
- 16 -A-A vain · glassA · scene · passA
- 17 ABAB woodA · strainB · bloodA · brainB
- 18 ABAB theeA · schoolB · beA · foolB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The life of man to represent, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And turn it all to ridicule, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wit did a puppet-show invent, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Where the chief actor is a fool. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The gods of old were logs of wood, | 8 | ········ |
| And worship was to puppets paid; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In antic dress the idol stood, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And priest and people bow'd the head. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No wonder then, if art began | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The simple votaries to frame, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| To shape in timber foolish man, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And consecrate the block to fame. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From hence poetic fancy learn'd | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| That trees might rise from human forms; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The body to a trunk be turn'd, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And branches issue from the arms. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Thus Dædalus and Ovid too, | 8 | ········ |
| That man's a blockhead, have confest: | 8 | ···/···· |
| Powel and Stretch the hint pursue; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Life is a farce, the world a jest. | 8 | ········ |
| The same great truth South Sea has proved | 8 | ········ |
| On that famed theatre, the alley; | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| Where thousands, by directors moved | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Are now sad monuments of folly. | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| What Momus was of old to Jove, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The same a Harlequin is now; | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| The former was buffoon above, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The latter is a Punch below. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This fleeting scene is but a stage, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where various images appear; | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| In different parts of youth and age, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Alike the prince and peasant share. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Some draw our eyes by being great, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| False pomp conceals mere wood within; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And legislators ranged in state | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| Are oft but wisdom in machine. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A stock may chance to wear a crown, | 8 | ········ |
| And timber as a lord take place; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A statue may put on a frown, | 8 | ·/······ |
| And cheat us with a thinking face. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Others are blindly led away, | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| And made to act for ends unknown; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| By the mere spring of wires they play, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And speak in language not their own. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Too oft, alas! a scolding wife | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Usurps a jolly fellow's throne; | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| And many drink the cup of life, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Mix'd and embitter'd by a Joan. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| In short, whatever men pursue, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Of pleasure, folly, war, or love: | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| This mimic race brings all to view: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Alike they dress, they talk, they move. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Go on, great Stretch, with artful hand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Mortals to please and to deride; | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| And, when death breaks thy vital band, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thou shalt put on a puppet's pride. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thou shalt in puny wood be shown, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy image shall preserve thy fame; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Ages to come thy worth shall own, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Point at thy limbs, and tell thy name. | 8 | ········ |
| Tell Tom, he draws a farce in vain, | 8 | ········ |
| Before he looks in nature's glass; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Puns cannot form a witty scene, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Nor pedantry for humour pass. | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| To make men act as senseless wood, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And chatter in a mystic strain, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is a mere force on flesh and blood, | 8 | ········ |
| And shows some error in the brain. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He that would thus refine on thee, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And turn thy stage into a school, | 8 | ········ |
| The jest of Punch will ever be, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And stand confest the greater fool. | 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.