An Answer, by Delany, to Thomas Sheridan
Dear Sherry, I'm sorry for your bloodsheded sore eye,And the more I consider your case, still the more IRegret it, for see how the pain on't has wore ye.Besides, the good Whigs, who strangely adore ye,In pity cry out, "He's a poor blinded Tory."But listen to me, and I'll soon lay before yeA sovereign cure well attested in Gory.First wash it with ros, that makes dative rori,Then send for three leeches, and let them all gore ye;Then take a cordial dram to restore ye,Then take Lady Judith, and walk a fine boree,Then take a glass of good claret ex more,Then stay as long as you can ab uxore;And then if friend Dick will but ope your back-door, heWill quickly dispel the black clouds that hang o'er ye,And make you so bright, that you'll sing tory rory,And make a new ballad worth ten of John Dory:(Though I work your cure, yet he'll get the glory.)I'm now in the back school-house, high up one story,Quite weary with teaching, and ready to mori.My candle's just out too, no longer I'll pore ye,But away to Clem Barry's,--there’s an end of my story.
Words in this poem
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- gory a.
- Covered with gore or clotted blood. [From Gore.]
- claret n.
- The name firat given in England to the red wines of M [OE. claret, clare, clarry, OF. claret, clar, fr. cler, F. clair, clear, fr. L. clarus clear. See Clear.]
- 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.]
- dory n.
- A European fish. See Doree, and John Doree. [Named from 1st color, fr. F. dorée gilded, fr. dorer to gild, L. deaurare. See Deaurate, and cf. Aureole.]
- clem v. t.
- To starve; to famish. B. Jonson. [Cf. clam to clog, or G. klemmen to pinch, Icel. kl, E. clamp.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Answer, by Delany, to Thomas Sheridan 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, An Answer, by Delany, to Thomas Sheridan, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/an-answer-by-delany-to-thomas-sheridan.html, id L09389.
Form and metre
An Answer, by Delany, to Thomas Sheridan is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines. 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.7 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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 AABBCBCCBBBDDBBCCCCCBC eyeA · iA · yeB · yeB · toryC · yeB · goryC · roriC · yeB · yeB · boreeB · moreD · uxoreD · heB · yeB · roryC · doryC · gloryC · storyC · moriC · yeB · storyC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Sherry, I'm sorry for your bloodsheded sore eye, | 13 | ·/˘·/˘··/·˘·· |
| And the more I consider your case, still the more I | 13 | ····˘/˘······ |
| Regret it, for see how the pain on't has wore ye. | 12 | ˘/·········· |
| Besides, the good Whigs, who strangely adore ye, | 11 | ˘/····/˘˘/· |
| In pity cry out, "He's a poor blinded Tory." | 12 | ·/˘·····/˘/˘ |
| But listen to me, and I'll soon lay before ye | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| A sovereign cure well attested in Gory. | 11 | ·/˘··˘/˘·/˘ |
| First wash it with ros, that makes dative rori, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Then send for three leeches, and let them all gore ye; | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| Then take a cordial dram to restore ye, | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| Then take Lady Judith, and walk a fine boree, | 12 | ··/˘/˘····˘/ |
| Then take a glass of good claret ex more, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Then stay as long as you can ab uxore; | 10 | ·········· |
| And then if friend Dick will but ope your back-door, he | 12 | ············ |
| Will quickly dispel the black clouds that hang o'er ye, | 12 | ·/˘˘/······· |
| And make you so bright, that you'll sing tory rory, | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| And make a new ballad worth ten of John Dory: | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| (Though I work your cure, yet he'll get the glory.) | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| I'm now in the back school-house, high up one story, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Quite weary with teaching, and ready to mori. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| My candle's just out too, no longer I'll pore ye, | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··· |
| But away to Clem Barry's,--there’s an end of my story. | 14 | ·˘/··/˘·····/˘ |
Notes from the edition 2
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 14 Dr. Richard Helsham.
- Line 22 See "The Country Life," i, 140.
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