A New Year's Gift for Bec 1723-4
Returning Janus now prepares,For Bec, a new supply of cares,Sent in a bag to Dr. Swift,Who thus displays the new-year's gift.First, this large parcel brings you tidingsOf our good Dean's eternal chidings;Of Nelly's pertness, Robin's leasings,And Sheridan's perpetual teazings.This box is cramm'd on every sideWith Stella's magisterial pride.Behold a cage with sparrows fill'd,First to be fondled, then be kill'd.Now to this hamper I invite you,With six imagined cares to fright you.Here in this bundle Janus sendsConcerns by thousands for your friends.And here's a pair of leathern pokes,To hold your cares for other folks.Here from this barrel you may broachA peck of troubles for a coach.This ball of wax your ears will darken,Still to be curious, never hearken.Lest you the town may have less trouble inBring all your Quilca's cares to Dublin,For which he sends this empty sack;And so take all upon your back.
Words in this poem
- pertness n.
- The quality or state of being pert.
- leathern a.
- Made of leather; consisting of. leather; as, a leathern purse.
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- broach v. t.
- To spit; to pierce as with a spit. [F. brocher, fr. broche. See Broach, n.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A New Year's Gift for Bec 1723-4 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 New Year's Gift for Bec 1723-4, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-new-year-s-gift-for-bec-1723-4.html, id L09240.
Form and metre
A New Year's Gift for Bec 1723-4 is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCC-CDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ--KK preparesA · caresA · swiftB · giftB · tidingsC · chidingsC · leasings · teazingsC · sideD · prideD · fill'dE · kill'dE · youF · youF · sendsG · friendsG · pokesH · folksH · broachI · coachI · darkenJ · hearkenJ · in · dublin · sackK · backK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Returning Janus now prepares, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| For Bec, a new supply of cares, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Sent in a bag to Dr. Swift, | 7 | ······· |
| Who thus displays the new-year's gift. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| First, this large parcel brings you tidings | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Of our good Dean's eternal chidings; | 9 | ·/··˘/˘/˘ |
| Of Nelly's pertness, Robin's leasings, | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| And Sheridan's perpetual teazings. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| This box is cramm'd on every side | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With Stella's magisterial pride. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Behold a cage with sparrows fill'd, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| First to be fondled, then be kill'd. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Now to this hamper I invite you, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
| With six imagined cares to fright you. | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Here in this bundle Janus sends | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Concerns by thousands for your friends. | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And here's a pair of leathern pokes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To hold your cares for other folks. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Here from this barrel you may broach | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A peck of troubles for a coach. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| This ball of wax your ears will darken, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Still to be curious, never hearken. | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Lest you the town may have less trouble in | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Bring all your Quilca's cares to Dublin, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For which he sends this empty sack; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And so take all upon your back. | 8 | ········ |
Notes from the edition 2
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 1 The sun god represented with two faces, one in front, and one behind, to whom the new year was sacred.--W. E. B.
- Line 24 Country-house of Dr. Sheridan.
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