A Schoolboy's Theme
Dulce, Decane, decus, flos optime gentis HibernaeNomine quique audis, ingenioque celer:Dum lepido indulges risu, et mutaris in horas,Quò nova vis animi, materiesque rapit?Nunc gravis astrologus, coelo dominaris et astris,Filaque pro libitu Partrigiana secas.Nunc populo speciosa hospes miracula promis,Gentesque aequoreas, aëriasque creas.Seu plausum captat queruli persona Draperi,Seu levis a vacuo tabula sumpta cado.Mores egregius mira exprimis arte magister,Et vitam atque homines pagina quaeque sapit;Socraticae minor est vis et sapientia chartae,Nec tantum potuit grande Platonis opus.
Words in this poem
- dulce v. t.
- To make sweet; to soothe.
- decane n.
- A liquid hydrocarbon, C10H22, of the paraffin series, including several isomeric modifications. [See Deca-.]
- optime n.
- One of those who stand in the second rank of honors, immediately after the wranglers, in the University of Cambridge, England. They are divided into senior and junior optimes. [L., adv. fr. optimus the best.]
- tabula n.
- A table; a tablet. [L.]
- mores n.
- Customs; habits; esp., customs conformity to which is more or less obligatory; customary law.
- mira n.
- A remarkable variable star in the constellation Cetus (o Ceti). [NL., from L. mirus wonderful.]
- magister n.
- Master; sir; -- a title of the Middle Ages, given to a person in authority, or to one having a license from a university to teach philosophy and the liberal arts. [L. See Master.]
- pagina n.
- The surface of a leaf or of a flattened thallus. [L.]
- opus n.
- A work; specif. (Mus.), a musical composition. [L. See Opera.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Schoolboy's Theme 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 Schoolboy's Theme, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-schoolboy-s-theme.html, id L09444.
Form and metre
A Schoolboy's Theme is 14 lines in a single stanza. 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ---AB-B----A-- hibernae · celer · horas · rapitA · astrisB · secas · promisB · creas · draperi · cado · magister · sapitA · chartae · opus
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dulce, Decane, decus, flos optime gentis Hibernae | 13 | ·/˘···/˘˘···· |
| Nomine quique audis, ingenioque celer: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Dum lepido indulges risu, et mutaris in horas, | 16 | ····˘/˘·······/˘ |
| Quò nova vis animi, materiesque rapit? | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| Nunc gravis astrologus, coelo dominaris et astris, | 16 | ················ |
| Filaque pro libitu Partrigiana secas. | 12 | ············ |
| Nunc populo speciosa hospes miracula promis, | 14 | ·············· |
| Gentesque aequoreas, aëriasque creas. | 8 | ········ |
| Seu plausum captat queruli persona Draperi, | 14 | ········˘/˘··· |
| Seu levis a vacuo tabula sumpta cado. | 13 | ·/˘···/˘˘···· |
| Mores egregius mira exprimis arte magister, | 14 | /····/˘····˘/˘ |
| Et vitam atque homines pagina quaeque sapit; | 12 | ······/˘˘··· |
| Socraticae minor est vis et sapientia chartae, | 12 | ···/˘/······ |
| Nec tantum potuit grande Platonis opus. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
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.