An Excellent New Song upon the Late Grand Jury
Poor Monsieur his conscience preserved for a year,Yet in one hour he lost it, 'tis known far and near;To whom did he lose it?--A judge or a peer.Which nobody can deny.
This very same conscience was sold in a closet,Nor for a baked loaf, or a loaf in a losset,But a sweet sugar-plum, which you put in a posset.Which nobody can deny.
O Monsieur, to sell it for nothing was nonsense,For, if you would sell it, it should have been long since,But now you have lost both your cake and your conscience.Which nobody can deny.
So Nell of the Dairy, before she was wed,Refused ten good guineas for her maidenhead,Yet gave it for nothing to smooth-spoken Ned.Which nobody can deny.
But, Monsieur, no vonder dat you vere collogue,Since selling de contre be now all de vogue,You be but von fool after seventeen rogue.Which nobody can deny.
Some sell it for profit, 'tis very well known,And some but for sitting in sight of the throne,And other some sell what is none of their own.Which nobody can deny.
But Philpot, and Corker, and Burrus, and Hayze,And Rayner, and Nicholson, challenge our praise,With six other worthies as glorious as these.Which nobody can deny.
There's Donevan, Hart, and Archer, and Blood,And Gibson, and Gerard, all true men and good,All lovers of Ireland, and haters of Wood.Which nobody can deny.
But the slaves that would sell us shall hear on't in time,Their names shall be branded in prose and in rhyme,We'll paint 'em in colours as black as their crime.Which nobody can deny.
But P----r and copper L----h we'll excuse,The commands of your betters you dare not refuse,Obey was the word when you wore wooden shoes.Which nobody can deny.
Words in this poem
- monsieur n.
- The common title of civility in France in speaking to, or of, a man; Mr. or Sir. [Represented by the abbreviation M. or Mons. in the singular, and by MM. or Messrs. in the plural.] [F., fr. mon my + Sieur, abbrev. of seigneur lord. See Monseigneur.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- posset v. t.
- To curdle; to turn, as milk; to coagulate; as, to posset the blood.
- maidenhead n.
- The state of being a maiden; maidenhood; virginity. [See Maidenhood.]
- vere v. i.
- To change direction; to turn; to shift; as, wind veers to the west or north. [F. virer (cf. Sp. virar, birar), LL. virare; perhaps fr. L. vibrare to brandish, vibrate (cf. Vibrate); or cf. L. viriae armlets, bracelets, viriola a little br]
- collogue v. i.
- To talk or confer secretly and confidentially; to converse, especially with evil intentions; to plot mischief. [Cf. L. colloqui and E. dialogue. Cf. Collocution.]
- vogue n.
- The way or fashion of people at any particular time; temporary mode, custom, or practice; popular reception for the time; -- used now generally in the phrase in vogue. [F. vogue a rowing, vogue, fashion, It. voga, fr. vogare to row, to sail; probably fr. OHG. wag to move, akin to E. way. Cf. Way.]
- seventeen a.
- One more than sixteen; ten and seven added; as, seventeen years. [OE. seventene, AS. seofontyne, i. e., seven- ten. Cf. Seventy.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Excellent New Song upon the Late Grand Jury 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 Excellent New Song upon the Late Grand Jury, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/an-excellent-new-song-upon-the-late-grand-jury.html, id L09376.
Form and metre
An Excellent New Song upon the Late Grand Jury is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic 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 AAA- yearA · nearA · peerA · deny
- 2 -AA- closet · lossetA · possetA · deny
- 3 AAA- nonsenseA · sinceA · conscienceA · deny
- 4 AAA- wedA · maidenheadA · nedA · deny
- 5 -AA- collogue · vogueA · rogueA · deny
- 6 AAA- knownA · throneA · ownA · deny
- 7 AA-- hayzeA · praiseA · these · deny
- 8 AAA- bloodA · goodA · woodA · deny
- 9 AAA- timeA · rhymeA · crimeA · deny
- 10 AAA- excuseA · refuseA · shoesA · deny
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Poor Monsieur his conscience preserved for a year, | 11 | ·˘/·/˘˘/··· |
| Yet in one hour he lost it, 'tis known far and near; | 12 | ···/········ |
| To whom did he lose it?--A judge or a peer. | 11 | ··········· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| This very same conscience was sold in a closet, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| Nor for a baked loaf, or a loaf in a losset, | 12 | ············ |
| But a sweet sugar-plum, which you put in a posset. | 13 | ···/˘······/˘ |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| O Monsieur, to sell it for nothing was nonsense, | 12 | ·˘/····/˘·/˘ |
| For, if you would sell it, it should have been long since, | 12 | ············ |
| But now you have lost both your cake and your conscience. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| So Nell of the Dairy, before she was wed, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Refused ten good guineas for her maidenhead, | 11 | ˘/··/˘··/˘˘ |
| Yet gave it for nothing to smooth-spoken Ned. | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| But, Monsieur, no vonder dat you vere collogue, | 11 | ·˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Since selling de contre be now all de vogue, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| You be but von fool after seventeen rogue. | 11 | ·······/˘/· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| Some sell it for profit, 'tis very well known, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And some but for sitting in sight of the throne, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| And other some sell what is none of their own. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| But Philpot, and Corker, and Burrus, and Hayze, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| And Rayner, and Nicholson, challenge our praise, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘/˘/· |
| With six other worthies as glorious as these. | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| There's Donevan, Hart, and Archer, and Blood, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And Gibson, and Gerard, all true men and good, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/····· |
| All lovers of Ireland, and haters of Wood. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| But the slaves that would sell us shall hear on't in time, | 12 | ············ |
| Their names shall be branded in prose and in rhyme, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| We'll paint 'em in colours as black as their crime. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
| But P----r and copper L----h we'll excuse, | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| The commands of your betters you dare not refuse, | 12 | ·˘/··/˘···˘/ |
| Obey was the word when you wore wooden shoes. | 11 | ˘/······/˘· |
| Which nobody can deny. | 7 | ·/···˘/ |
Notes from the edition 1
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Stanza 1, line 3 Whitshed or Carteret.
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.