To His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin: A Poem
Serus in coelum redeas, diuqueLaetus intersis populo.--HOR., Carm. I, ii, 45.
Great, good, and just, was once appliedTo one who for his country died;lTo one who lives in its defence,We speak it in a happier sense.O may the fates thy life prolong!Our country then can dread no wrong:In thy great care we place our trust,Because thou'rt great, and good, and just:Thy breast unshaken can opposeOur private and our public foes:The latent wiles, and tricks of state,Your wisdom can with ease defeat.When power in all its pomp appears,It falls before thy rev'rend years,And willingly resigns its placeTo something nobler in thy face.When once the fierce pursuing GaulHad drawn his sword for Marius' fall,The godlike hero with a frownStruck all his rage and malice down;Then how can we dread William Wood,If by thy presence he's withstood?Where wisdom stands to keep the field,In vain he brings his brazen shield;Though like the sibyl's priest he comes,With furious din of brazen drumsThe force of thy superior voiceShall strike him dumb, and quell their noise.
"Great, good, and just! could I but rateMy griefs to thy too rigid fate,I'd weep the world in such a strainAs it should deluge once again;But since thy loud-tongued blood demands suppliesMore from Briareus' hands than Argus' eyes,I'll sing thine obsequies with trumpet sounds,And write thine epitaph in blood and wounds."
Words in this poem
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
- 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,]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin: A Poem 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, To His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin: A Poem, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-poem.html, id L09378.
Form and metre
To His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin: A Poem is 38 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 32% 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.
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNN appliedA · died;lA · defenceB · senseB · prolongC · wrongC · trustD · justD · opposeE · foesE · stateF · defeatF · appearsG · yearsG · placeH · faceH · gaulI · fallI · frownJ · downJ · woodK · withstoodK · fieldL · shieldL · comesM · drumsM · voiceN · noiseN
- 3 AABBCC-- rateA · fateA · strainB · againB · suppliesC · eyesC · sounds · wounds
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Serus in coelum redeas, diuque | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Laetus intersis populo.--HOR., Carm. I, ii, 45. | 12 | ············ |
| Great, good, and just, was once applied | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To one who for his country died;l | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| To one who lives in its defence, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| We speak it in a happier sense. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O may the fates thy life prolong! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Our country then can dread no wrong: | 8 | //˘····· |
| In thy great care we place our trust, | 8 | ······/· |
| Because thou'rt great, and good, and just: | 8 | ········ |
| Thy breast unshaken can oppose | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Our private and our public foes: | 8 | //˘·//˘· |
| The latent wiles, and tricks of state, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Your wisdom can with ease defeat. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| When power in all its pomp appears, | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| It falls before thy rev'rend years, | 8 | ········ |
| And willingly resigns its place | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| To something nobler in thy face. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| When once the fierce pursuing Gaul | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Had drawn his sword for Marius' fall, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The godlike hero with a frown | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Struck all his rage and malice down; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then how can we dread William Wood, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If by thy presence he's withstood? | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Where wisdom stands to keep the field, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In vain he brings his brazen shield; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though like the sibyl's priest he comes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With furious din of brazen drums | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The force of thy superior voice | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Shall strike him dumb, and quell their noise. | 8 | ········ |
| "Great, good, and just! could I but rate | 8 | ········ |
| My griefs to thy too rigid fate, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I'd weep the world in such a strain | 8 | ········ |
| As it should deluge once again; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| But since thy loud-tongued blood demands supplies | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| More from Briareus' hands than Argus' eyes, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I'll sing thine obsequies with trumpet sounds, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| And write thine epitaph in blood and wounds." | 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.