Translated Almost Literally Out of the Original Irish. 1720
O'ROURKE'S noble fareWill ne'er be forgot,By those who were there,Or those who were not.
His revels to keep,We sup and we dineOn seven score sheep,Fat bullocks, and swine.
Usquebaugh to our feastIn pails was brought up,A hundred at least,And a madder our cup.
O there is the sport!We rise with the lightIn disorderly sort,From snoring all night.
O how was I trick'd!My pipe it was broke,My pocket was pick'd,I lost my new cloak.
I'm rifled, quoth Nell,Of mantle and kercher,Why then fare them well,The de'el take the searcher.
Come, harper, strike up;But, first, by your favour,Boy, give us a cup:Ah! this hath some savour.
O'Rourke's jolly boysNe'er dreamt of the matter,Till, roused by the noise,And musical clatter,
They bounce from their nest,No longer will tarry,They rise ready drest,Without one Ave-Mary.
They dance in a round,Cutting capers and ramping;A mercy the groundDid not burst with their stamping.
The floor is all wetWith leaps and with jumps,While the water and sweatSplish-splash in their pumps.
Bless you late and early,Laughlin O'Enagin!But, my hand, you dance rarely.Margery Grinagin.
Bring straw for our bed,Shake it down to the feet,Then over us spreadThe winnowing sheet.
To show I don't flinch,Fill the bowl up again:Then give us a pinchOf your sneezing, a Yean.
Good lord! what a sight,After all their good cheer,For people to fightIn the midst of their beer!
They rise from their feast,And hot are their brains,A cubit at leastThe length of their skeans.
What stabs and what cuts,What clattering of sticks;What strokes on the guts,What bastings and kicks!
With cudgels of oak,Well harden'd in flame,A hundred heads broke,A hundred struck lame.
You churl, I'll maintainMy father built Lusk,The castle of Slane,And Carrick Drumrusk:
The Earl of Kildare,And Moynalta his brother,As great as they are,I was nurst by their mother.
Ask that of old madam:She'll tell you who's who,As far up as Adam,She knows it is true.
Come down with that beam,If cudgels are scarce,A blow on the weam,Or a kick on the a----se.
Words in this poem 16
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- usquebaugh n.
- A compound distilled spirit made in Ireland and Scotland; whisky. [Ir. or Gael. uisge beatha, literally, water of life; uisge water + beatha life; akin to Gr. bi`os life. See Quick, a., and cf. Whisky.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- harper n.
- A player on the harp; a minstrel. [AS. hearpere.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- savour v. t.
- To perceive by the smell or the taste; hence, to perceive; to note. B. Jonson.
- clatter v. i.
- To make a rattling sound by striking hard bodies together; to make a succession of abrupt, rattling sounds. [AS. cla a rattle, akin to D. klateren to rattle. Cf. Clack.]
- bounce v. i.
- To strike or thump, so as to rebound, or to make a sudden noise; a knock loudly. [OE. bunsen; cf. D. bonzen to strike, bounce, bons blow, LG. bunsen to knock; all prob. of imitative origin.]
- winnowing n.
- The act of one who, or that which, winnows.
- sneezing n.
- The act of violently forcing air out through the nasal passages while the cavity of the mouth is shut off from the pharynx by the approximation of the soft palate and the base of the tongue.
- yean v. t.
- To bring forth young, as a goat or a sheep; to ean. [AS. eánian, or geeánian; perhaps akin to E. ewe, or perhaps to L. agnus, Gr. Ean.]
- cubit n.
- The forearm; the ulna, a bone of the arm extending from elbow to wrist. [L. cubitum, cubitus; elbow, ell, cubit, fr. (because the elbow serves focubare to lie down, recline; cf. Gr. Incumbent, Covey.]
- lusk a.
- Lazy; slothful.
- carrick n.
- A carack. See Carack. Carrick bend (Naut.), a kind of knot, used for bending together hawsers or other ropes.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Translated Almost Literally Out of the Original Irish. 1720 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, Translated Almost Literally Out of the Original Irish. 1720, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/translated-almost-literally-out-of-the-original-irish-1720.html, id L24512.
Form and metre
Translated Almost Literally Out of the Original Irish. 1720 is 88 lines in 22 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 17 of its 22 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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 fareA · forgotB · thereA · notB
- 2 ABAB keepA · dineB · sheepA · swineB
- 3 ABAB feastA · upB · leastA · cupB
- 4 ABAB sportA · lightB · sortA · nightB
- 5 ABAB trick'dA · brokeB · pick'dA · cloakB
- 6 A-A- nellA · kercher · wellA · searcher
- 7 ABAB upA · favourB · cupA · savourB
- 8 ABAB boysA · matterB · noiseA · clatterB
- 9 ABAB nestA · tarryB · drestA · maryB
- 10 ABAB roundA · rampingB · groundA · stampingB
- 11 ABAB wetA · jumpsB · sweatA · pumpsB
- 12 -A-A early · o'enaginA · rarely · grinaginA
- 13 ABAB bedA · feetB · spreadA · sheetB
- 14 A-A- flinchA · again · pinchA · yean
- 15 ABAB sightA · cheerB · fightA · beerB
- 16 ABAB feastA · brainsB · leastA · skeansB
- 17 ABAB cutsA · sticksB · gutsA · kicksB
- 18 ABAB oakA · flameB · brokeA · lameB
- 19 ABAB maintainA · luskB · slaneA · drumruskB
- 20 -A-A kildare · brotherA · are · motherA
- 21 ABAB madamA · whoB · adamA · trueB
- 22 A-A- beamA · scarce · weamA · se
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O'ROURKE'S noble fare | 5 | ˘//˘· |
| Will ne'er be forgot, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| By those who were there, | 5 | ····· |
| Or those who were not. | 5 | ····· |
| His revels to keep, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| We sup and we dine | 5 | ····· |
| On seven score sheep, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Fat bullocks, and swine. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Usquebaugh to our feast | 6 | /˘˘·/· |
| In pails was brought up, | 5 | ····· |
| A hundred at least, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And a madder our cup. | 6 | ··/˘/· |
| O there is the sport! | 5 | ····· |
| We rise with the light | 5 | ····· |
| In disorderly sort, | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| From snoring all night. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| O how was I trick'd! | 5 | ····· |
| My pipe it was broke, | 5 | ····· |
| My pocket was pick'd, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| I lost my new cloak. | 5 | ····· |
| I'm rifled, quoth Nell, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Of mantle and kercher, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Why then fare them well, | 5 | ····· |
| The de'el take the searcher. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Come, harper, strike up; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| But, first, by your favour, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Boy, give us a cup: | 5 | ····· |
| Ah! this hath some savour. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| O'Rourke's jolly boys | 5 | ˘//˘· |
| Ne'er dreamt of the matter, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Till, roused by the noise, | 5 | ····· |
| And musical clatter, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| They bounce from their nest, | 5 | ····· |
| No longer will tarry, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| They rise ready drest, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Without one Ave-Mary. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| They dance in a round, | 5 | ····· |
| Cutting capers and ramping; | 7 | /˘/˘·/˘ |
| A mercy the ground | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Did not burst with their stamping. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The floor is all wet | 5 | ····· |
| With leaps and with jumps, | 5 | ····· |
| While the water and sweat | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Splish-splash in their pumps. | 5 | ····· |
| Bless you late and early, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Laughlin O'Enagin! | 5 | /˘··· |
| But, my hand, you dance rarely. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Margery Grinagin. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Bring straw for our bed, | 5 | ···/· |
| Shake it down to the feet, | 6 | ······ |
| Then over us spread | 5 | ····· |
| The winnowing sheet. | 5 | ·/·˘· |
| To show I don't flinch, | 5 | ····· |
| Fill the bowl up again: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then give us a pinch | 5 | ····· |
| Of your sneezing, a Yean. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Good lord! what a sight, | 5 | ····· |
| After all their good cheer, | 6 | ······ |
| For people to fight | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| In the midst of their beer! | 6 | ······ |
| They rise from their feast, | 5 | ····· |
| And hot are their brains, | 5 | ····· |
| A cubit at least | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| The length of their skeans. | 5 | ····· |
| What stabs and what cuts, | 5 | ····· |
| What clattering of sticks; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| What strokes on the guts, | 5 | ····· |
| What bastings and kicks! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| With cudgels of oak, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Well harden'd in flame, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| A hundred heads broke, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| A hundred struck lame. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| You churl, I'll maintain | 5 | ···˘/ |
| My father built Lusk, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| The castle of Slane, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And Carrick Drumrusk: | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| The Earl of Kildare, | 5 | ····· |
| And Moynalta his brother, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As great as they are, | 5 | ····· |
| I was nurst by their mother. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Ask that of old madam: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| She'll tell you who's who, | 5 | ····· |
| As far up as Adam, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| She knows it is true. | 5 | ····· |
| Come down with that beam, | 5 | ····· |
| If cudgels are scarce, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| A blow on the weam, | 5 | ····· |
| Or a kick on the a----se. | 8 | ·······/ |
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