By Mr. James Sterling, of the County of Meath
While the Dean with more wit than man ever wanted,Or than Heaven to any man else ever granted,Endeavours to prove, how the ancients in knowledgeHave excell'd our adepts of each modern college;How by heroes of old our chiefs are surpass'dIn each useful science, true learning, and taste.While thus he behaves, with more courage than manners,And fights for the foe, deserting our banners;While Bentley and Wotton, our champions, he foils,And wants neither Temple's assistance, nor Boyle's;In spite of his learning, fine reasons, and style,--Would you think it?--he favours our cause all the while:We raise by his conquest our glory the higher,And from our defeat to a triumph aspire;Our great brother-modern, the boast of our days,Unconscious, has gain'd for our party the bays:St. James's old authors, so famed on each shelf,Are vanquish'd by what he has written himself.
Words in this poem
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
By Mr. James Sterling, of the County of Meath 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, By Mr. James Sterling, of the County of Meath, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/by-mr-james-sterling-of-the-county-of-meath.html, id L09445.
Form and metre
By Mr. James Sterling, of the County of Meath is 18 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 69% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.2 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 --AA--BBCCDD--EEFF wanted · granted · knowledgeA · collegeA · surpass'd · taste · mannersB · bannersB · foilsC · boyle'sC · styleD · whileD · higher · aspire · daysE · baysE · shelfF · himselfF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| While the Dean with more wit than man ever wanted, | 11 | ········//˘ |
| Or than Heaven to any man else ever granted, | 11 | ··/·/˘··//˘ |
| Endeavours to prove, how the ancients in knowledge | 12 | ˘/˘····/˘·/˘ |
| Have excell'd our adepts of each modern college; | 12 | ·˘//˘/··/˘/˘ |
| How by heroes of old our chiefs are surpass'd | 11 | ··/˘··/··˘/ |
| In each useful science, true learning, and taste. | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| While thus he behaves, with more courage than manners, | 12 | ···˘/··/˘·/˘ |
| And fights for the foe, deserting our banners; | 10 | ·····/˘//˘ |
| While Bentley and Wotton, our champions, he foils, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘//˘·· |
| And wants neither Temple's assistance, nor Boyle's; | 11 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| In spite of his learning, fine reasons, and style, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| --Would you think it?--he favours our cause all the while: | 12 | ·····/˘/···· |
| We raise by his conquest our glory the higher, | 11 | ····/˘//˘·/ |
| And from our defeat to a triumph aspire; | 11 | ··/˘/··/˘˘/ |
| Our great brother-modern, the boast of our days, | 11 | /·/˘/˘···/· |
| Unconscious, has gain'd for our party the bays: | 11 | ·/˘···//˘·· |
| St. James's old authors, so famed on each shelf, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Are vanquish'd by what he has written himself. | 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.