A Copy of a Copy of Verses from Thomas Sheridan, Clerk, to George-Nim-Dan-Dean, Esq.
I'd have you t' know, George, Dan, Dean, and Nim,That I've learned how verse t' compose trim,Much better b'half th'n you, n'r you, n'r him,And that I'd rid'cule their'nd your flam-flim.Ay b't then, p'rhaps, says you, t's a merry whim,With 'bundance of mark'd notes i' th' rim,So th't I ought n't for t' be morose 'nd t' look grim,Think n't your 'p'stle put m' in a megrim;Though 'n rep't't'on day, I 'ppear ver' slim,Th' last bowl't Helsham's did m' head t' swim,So th't I h'd man' aches 'n v'ry scrubb'd limb,Cause th' top of th' bowl I h'd oft us'd t' skim;And b'sides D'lan' swears th't I h'd swall'w'd s'v'r'l brim-Mers, 'nd that my vis'ge's cov'r'd o'er with r'd pim-Ples: m'r'o'er though m' scull were ('s 'tis n't) 's strong's tim-Ber, 't must have ach'd. Th' clans of th' c'llege Sanh'drim,Pres'nt the'r humbl' and 'fect'nate respects; that’s t' say,D'ln', 'chlin, P. Ludl', Dic' St'wart, H'lsham, Capt'nP'rr' Walmsl', 'nd Long sh'nks Timm.
Words in this poem
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- megrim n.
- A kind of sick or nevrous headache, usually periodical and confined to one side of the head. [OE. migrim, migrene, F. migraine, LL. hemigrania, L. hemicrania, hemicranium, Gr. Hemi- and Cranium, and cf. Hemicrania, Migraine.]
- scull n.
- A shoal of fish. [See 1st School.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Copy of a Copy of Verses from Thomas Sheridan, Clerk, to George-Nim-Dan-Dean, Esq. is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #13621; 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, A Copy of a Copy of Verses from Thomas Sheridan, Clerk, to George-Nim-Dan-Dean, Esq., in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-copy-of-a-copy-of-verses-from-thomas-sheridan-clerk-to-george-nim-dan-dean-esq.html, id L26344.
Form and metre
A Copy of a Copy of Verses from Thomas Sheridan, Clerk, to George-Nim-Dan-Dean, Esq. is 19 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 AAAAAAA-AAAAAAAA--A nimA · trimA · himA · flimA · whimA · rimA · grimA · megrim · slimA · swimA · limbA · skimA · brimA · pimA · timA · sanh'drimA · say · capt'n · timmA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I'd have you t' know, George, Dan, Dean, and Nim, | 10 | ·········· |
| That I've learned how verse t' compose trim, | 10 | ···˘···˘/· |
| Much better b'half th'n you, n'r you, n'r him, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And that I'd rid'cule their'nd your flam-flim. | 10 | ·········· |
| Ay b't then, p'rhaps, says you, t's a merry whim, | 12 | ·//······/˘· |
| With 'bundance of mark'd notes i' th' rim, | 8 | ········ |
| So th't I ought n't for t' be morose 'nd t' look grim, | 14 | ········˘/···· |
| Think n't your 'p'stle put m' in a megrim; | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Though 'n rep't't'on day, I 'ppear ver' slim, | 9 | ········· |
| Th' last bowl't Helsham's did m' head t' swim, | 9 | ········· |
| So th't I h'd man' aches 'n v'ry scrubb'd limb, | 10 | ·········· |
| Cause th' top of th' bowl I h'd oft us'd t' skim; | 10 | ·········· |
| And b'sides D'lan' swears th't I h'd swall'w'd s'v'r'l brim- | 10 | ·········· |
| Mers, 'nd that my vis'ge's cov'r'd o'er with r'd pim- | 11 | ··········· |
| Ples: m'r'o'er though m' scull were ('s 'tis n't) 's strong's tim- | 12 | ············ |
| Ber, 't must have ach'd. Th' clans of th' c'llege Sanh'drim, | 10 | ·········· |
| Pres'nt the'r humbl' and 'fect'nate respects; that’s t' say, | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| D'ln', 'chlin, P. Ludl', Dic' St'wart, H'lsham, Capt'n | 8 | ········ |
| P'rr' Walmsl', 'nd Long sh'nks Timm. | 6 | ······ |
Notes from the edition 1
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 19 Dr. James Stopford, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne.
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.