A Simile on Our Want of Silver, and the Only Way to Remedy It. 1725
As when of old some sorceress threwO'er the moon's face a sable hue,To drive unseen her magic chair,At midnight, through the darken'd air;Wise people, who believed with reasonThat this eclipse was out of season,Affirm'd the moon was sick, and fellTo cure her by a counter spell.Ten thousand cymbals now begin,To rend the skies with brazen din;The cymbals' rattling sounds dispelThe cloud, and drive the hag to hell.The moon, deliver'd from her pain,Displays her silver face again.Note here, that in the chemic style,The moon is silver all this while.So (if my simile you minded,Which I confess is too long-winded)When late a feminine magician,Join'd with a brazen politician,Exposed, to blind the nation's eyes,A parchment of prodigious size;Conceal'd behind that ample screen,There was no silver to be seen.But to this parchment let the DrapierOppose his counter-charm of paper,And ring Wood's copper in our earsSo loud till all the nation hears;That sound will make the parchment shrivelAnd drive the conjurors to the Devil;And when the sky is grown serene,Our silver will appear again.
Words in this poem
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- dispel v. t.
- To drive away by scattering, or so to cause to vanish; to clear away; to banish; to dissipate; as, to dispel a cloud, vapors, cares, doubts, illusions. [L. dispellere; dis- + pellere to push, drive. See Pulse a beating.]
- simile n.
- A word or phrase by which anything is likened, in one or more of its aspects, to something else; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison. [L., from similis. See Similar.]
- prodigious a.
- Of the nature of a prodigy; marvelous; wonderful; portentous. [L. prodigiosus, fr. prodigium a prodigy; cf. F. prodigieux. See Prodigy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Simile on Our Want of Silver, and the Only Way to Remedy It. 1725 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 Simile on Our Want of Silver, and the Only Way to Remedy It. 1725, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-simile-on-our-want-of-silver-and-the-only-way-to-remedy-it.html, id L09327.
Form and metre
A Simile on Our Want of Silver, and the Only Way to Remedy It. 1725 is 32 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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 AABBCCDDCCDD--EE--FFGGFF--HH---- threwA · hueA · chairB · airB · reasonC · seasonC · fellD · spellD · beginC · dinC · dispelD · hellD · pain · again · styleE · whileE · minded · winded · magicianF · politicianF · eyesG · sizeG · screenF · seenF · drapier · paper · earsH · hearsH · shrivel · devil · serene · again
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As when of old some sorceress threw | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| O'er the moon's face a sable hue, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To drive unseen her magic chair, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| At midnight, through the darken'd air; | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Wise people, who believed with reason | 9 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| That this eclipse was out of season, | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| Affirm'd the moon was sick, and fell | 8 | ˘/······ |
| To cure her by a counter spell. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ten thousand cymbals now begin, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To rend the skies with brazen din; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The cymbals' rattling sounds dispel | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The cloud, and drive the hag to hell. | 8 | ········ |
| The moon, deliver'd from her pain, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Displays her silver face again. | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Note here, that in the chemic style, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The moon is silver all this while. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So (if my simile you minded, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Which I confess is too long-winded) | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| When late a feminine magician, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Join'd with a brazen politician, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Exposed, to blind the nation's eyes, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| A parchment of prodigious size; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Conceal'd behind that ample screen, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| There was no silver to be seen. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But to this parchment let the Drapier | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Oppose his counter-charm of paper, | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| And ring Wood's copper in our ears | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| So loud till all the nation hears; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That sound will make the parchment shrivel | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And drive the conjurors to the Devil; | 8 | ···/˘··/ |
| And when the sky is grown serene, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Our silver will appear again. | 8 | //˘·˘/˘/ |
Notes from the edition 3
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 19 The Duchess of Kendal, who was to have a share of Wood's profits.--Scott.
- Line 20 Sir Robert Walpole, nicknamed Sir Robert Brass, vol. i, p. 219.--W. E. B.
- Line 22 The patent for coining halfpence.
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