A Reply, by Sheridan, to Delany
I like your collyrium,Take my eyes, sir, and clear ye 'um,'Twill gain you a great reputation;By this you may rise,Like the doctor so wise,Who open'd the eyes of the nation.
And these, I must tell ye,Are bigger than its belly;--You know, there’s in Livy a storyOf the hands and the feetDenying of meat,--Don't I write in the dark like a Tory?
Your water so far goes,'Twould serve for an Argus,Were all his whole hundred sore;So many we readHe had in his head,Or Ovid's a son of a whore.
For your recipe, sir,May my lids never stir,If ever I think once to fee you;For I'd have you to know,When abroad I can go,That it's honour enough, if I see you.
Words in this poem
- collyrium n.
- An application to the eye, usually an eyewater.
- bigger a.
- , compar. of Big.
- argus n.
- A fabulous being of antiquity, said to have had a hundred eyes, who has placed by Juno to guard Io. His eyes were transplanted to the peacock's tail.
- whore n.
- A woman who practices unlawful sexual commerce with men, especially one who prostitutes her body for hire; a prostitute; a harlot. Wyclif. [OE. hore, AS. h; akin to D. hoer, hoere, G. hure, OHG. huora, huorra, Icel. h, Dan. hore, Sw. hora, Goth. h an adulterer, AS. h adultery, OHG. huor, and probabl]
- recipe n.
- A formulary or prescription for making some combination, mixture, or preparation of materials; a receipt; especially, a prescription for medicine. [L., imperative of recipere to take back, take in, receive. See Receive.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Reply, by Sheridan, to Delany 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 Reply, by Sheridan, to Delany, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-reply-by-sheridan-to-delany.html, id L09390.
Form and metre
A Reply, by Sheridan, to Delany is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 --ABBA collyrium · um · reputationA · riseB · wiseB · nationA
- 2 --ABBA ye · belly · storyA · feetB · meatB · toryA
- 3 --ABBA goes · argus · soreA · readB · headB · whoreA
- 4 AABCCB sirA · stirA · youB · knowC · goC · youB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I like your collyrium, | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Take my eyes, sir, and clear ye 'um, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twill gain you a great reputation; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| By this you may rise, | 5 | ····· |
| Like the doctor so wise, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Who open'd the eyes of the nation. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And these, I must tell ye, | 6 | ······ |
| Are bigger than its belly;-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| You know, there’s in Livy a story | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Of the hands and the feet | 6 | ······ |
| Denying of meat,-- | 5 | ˘/˘·· |
| Don't I write in the dark like a Tory? | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Your water so far goes, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'Twould serve for an Argus, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Were all his whole hundred sore; | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| So many we read | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| He had in his head, | 5 | ····· |
| Or Ovid's a son of a whore. | 8 | ········ |
| For your recipe, sir, | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| May my lids never stir, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If ever I think once to fee you; | 8 | ·/······ |
| For I'd have you to know, | 6 | ······ |
| When abroad I can go, | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| That it's honour enough, if I see you. | 10 | ··/˘˘/···· |
Notes from the edition 1
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Stanza 1, line 5 Probably Dr. Davenant.
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.