Atlas; or, the Minister of State
Atlas, we read in ancient song,Was so exceeding tall and strong,He bore the skies upon his back,Just as the pedler does his pack;But, as the pedler overpress'dUnloads upon a stall to rest,Or, when he can no longer standDesires a friend to lend a hand;So Atlas, lest the ponderous spheresShould sink, and fall about his ears,Got Hercules to bear the pile,That he might sit and rest awhile.Yet Hercules was not so strong,Nor could have borne it half so long.Great statesmen are in this condition;And Atlas is a politician,A premier minister of state;Alcides one of second rate.Suppose then Atlas ne'er so wise;Yet, when the weight of kingdoms liesToo long upon his single shoulders,Sink down he must, or find upholders.
Words in this poem
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- premier a.
- First; chief; principal; as, the premier place; premier minister. [F. premier, fr. L. primarius of the first rank, principal, fr. primus the first. See Primary, Prime, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Atlas; or, the Minister of State 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, Atlas; or, the Minister of State, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/atlas-or-the-minister-of-state.html, id L25679.
Form and metre
Atlas; or, the Minister of State is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK songA · strongA · backB · packB · overpress'dC · restC · standD · handD · spheresE · earsE · pileF · awhileF · strongG · longG · conditionH · politicianH · stateI · rateI · wiseJ · liesJ · shouldersK · upholdersK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas, we read in ancient song, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Was so exceeding tall and strong, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| He bore the skies upon his back, | 8 | ········ |
| Just as the pedler does his pack; | 8 | ········ |
| But, as the pedler overpress'd | 8 | ········ |
| Unloads upon a stall to rest, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Or, when he can no longer stand | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Desires a friend to lend a hand; | 8 | ˘/······ |
| So Atlas, lest the ponderous spheres | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Should sink, and fall about his ears, | 8 | ········ |
| Got Hercules to bear the pile, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That he might sit and rest awhile. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Yet Hercules was not so strong, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Nor could have borne it half so long. | 8 | ········ |
| Great statesmen are in this condition; | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| And Atlas is a politician, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| A premier minister of state; | 8 | ·˘//˘˘·· |
| Alcides one of second rate. | 7 | /···/˘· |
| Suppose then Atlas ne'er so wise; | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Yet, when the weight of kingdoms lies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Too long upon his single shoulders, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Sink down he must, or find upholders. | 9 | ········· |
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.