Translated by Dr. Dunkin
Lo! from the top of yonder cliff, that shroudsIts airy head amid the azure clouds,Hangs a huge fragment; destitute of props,Prone on the wave the rocky ruin drops;With hoarse rebuff the swelling seas rebound,From shore to shore the rocks return the sound:The dreadful murmur Heaven's high convex cleaves,And Neptune shrinks beneath his subject waves:For, long the whirling winds and beating tidesHad scoop'd a vault into its nether sides.Now yields the base, the summits nod, now urgeTheir headlong course, and lash the sounding surge.Not louder noise could shake the guilty world,When Jove heap'd mountains upon mountains hurl'd;Retorting Pelion from his dread abode,To crush Earth's rebel sons beneath the load.Oft too with hideous yawn the cavern widePresents an orifice on either side.A dismal orifice, from sea to seaExtended, pervious to the God of Day:Uncouthly join'd, the rocks stupendous formAn arch, the ruin of a future storm:High on the cliff their nests the woodquests make,And sea-calves stable in the oozy lake.But when bleak Winter with his sullen trainAwakes the winds to vex the watery plain;When o'er the craggy steep without control,Big with the blast, the raging billows roll;Not towns beleaguer'd, not the flaming brand,Darted from Heaven by Jove's avenging hand,Oft as on impious men his wrath he pours,Humbles their pride and blasts their gilded towers,Equal the tumult of this wild uproar:Waves rush o'er waves, rebellows shore to shore.The neighbouring race, though wont to brave the shocksOf angry seas, and run along the rocks,Now, pale with terror, while the ocean foams,Fly far and wide, nor trust their native homes.The goats, while, pendent from the mountain top,The wither'd herb improvident they crop,Wash'd down the precipice with sudden sweep,Leave their sweet lives beneath th'unfathom'd deep.The frighted fisher, with desponding eyes,Though safe, yet trembling in the harbour lies,Nor hoping to behold the skies serene,Wearies with vows the monarch of the main.
Words in this poem 17
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- props n.
- A game of chance, in which four sea shells, each called a prop, are used instead of dice.
- rebuff n.
- Repercussion, or beating back; a quick and sudden resistance. [It. ribuffo, akin to ribuffare to repulse; pref. ri- (L. re-) + buffo puff. Cf. Buff to strike, Buffet a blow.]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- nether a.
- Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to upper. [OE. nethere, neithere, AS. ni, fr. the adv. ni downward; akin to neo below, beneath, D. neder down, G. nieder, Sw. nedre below, nether, a. & adv., and also to S]
- 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.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- dismal a.
- Fatal; ill-omened; unlucky. [Formerly a noun; e. g., "I trow it was in the dismalle." Chaucer. Of uncertain origin; but perh. (as suggested by Skeat) from OF. disme, F. dîme, tithe, the phr]
- stupendous a.
- Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation; as, a stupendous pile. [L. stupendus astonishing, p. future pass. of stupere to be astonished at. Cf. Stupid.]
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- humbles n.
- Entrails of a deer. Johnson. [See Nombles.]
- neighbouring a.
- Living or being near; adjacent; as, the neighboring nations or countries.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- precipice n.
- A sudden or headlong fall. Fuller. [F. précipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, - cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]
- harbour n.
- A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter. [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here ar]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Translated by Dr. Dunkin 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 by Dr. Dunkin, in On Poetry: A Rhapsody, and Other Poems (1727), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems-vol1/translated-by-dr-dunkin.html, id L24525.
Form and metre
Translated by Dr. Dunkin is 46 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCC--DDEEFFGGHH--IIJJKKLLMM--NNOOPPQQRRSS-- shroudsA · cloudsA · propsB · dropsB · reboundC · soundC · cleaves · waves · tidesD · sidesD · urgeE · surgeE · worldF · hurl'dF · abodeG · loadG · wideH · sideH · sea · day · formI · stormI · makeJ · lakeJ · trainK · plainK · controlL · rollL · brandM · handM · pours · towers · uproarN · shoreN · shocksO · rocksO · foamsP · homesP · topQ · cropQ · sweepR · deepR · eyesS · liesS · serene · main
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lo! from the top of yonder cliff, that shrouds | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Its airy head amid the azure clouds, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Hangs a huge fragment; destitute of props, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Prone on the wave the rocky ruin drops; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| With hoarse rebuff the swelling seas rebound, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| From shore to shore the rocks return the sound: | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| The dreadful murmur Heaven's high convex cleaves, | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/· |
| And Neptune shrinks beneath his subject waves: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For, long the whirling winds and beating tides | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Had scoop'd a vault into its nether sides. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Now yields the base, the summits nod, now urge | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Their headlong course, and lash the sounding surge. | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| Not louder noise could shake the guilty world, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| When Jove heap'd mountains upon mountains hurl'd; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Retorting Pelion from his dread abode, | 10 | /·˘·····˘/ |
| To crush Earth's rebel sons beneath the load. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Oft too with hideous yawn the cavern wide | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Presents an orifice on either side. | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘·/˘· |
| A dismal orifice, from sea to sea | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| Extended, pervious to the God of Day: | 11 | ˘/˘/˘˘····· |
| Uncouthly join'd, the rocks stupendous form | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| An arch, the ruin of a future storm: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| High on the cliff their nests the woodquests make, | 10 | ·········· |
| And sea-calves stable in the oozy lake. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But when bleak Winter with his sullen train | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Awakes the winds to vex the watery plain; | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| When o'er the craggy steep without control, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Big with the blast, the raging billows roll; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Not towns beleaguer'd, not the flaming brand, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Darted from Heaven by Jove's avenging hand, | 10 | /˘·/··˘/˘· |
| Oft as on impious men his wrath he pours, | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| Humbles their pride and blasts their gilded towers, | 11 | /˘·····/˘/˘ |
| Equal the tumult of this wild uproar: | 10 | /˘·/˘···/· |
| Waves rush o'er waves, rebellows shore to shore. | 10 | ·········· |
| The neighbouring race, though wont to brave the shocks | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of angry seas, and run along the rocks, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Now, pale with terror, while the ocean foams, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Fly far and wide, nor trust their native homes. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The goats, while, pendent from the mountain top, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The wither'd herb improvident they crop, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| Wash'd down the precipice with sudden sweep, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Leave their sweet lives beneath th'unfathom'd deep. | 10 | ·········· |
| The frighted fisher, with desponding eyes, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Though safe, yet trembling in the harbour lies, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Nor hoping to behold the skies serene, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| Wearies with vows the monarch of the main. | 10 | /˘···/···· |
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.