Epigram on Two Great Men. 1754
Two geniuses one age and nation grace!Pride of our isles, and boast of human race!Great sage! great bard! supreme in knowledge born!The world to mend, enlighten, and adorn.Truth on Cimmerian darkness pours the day!Wit drives in smiles the gloom of minds away!Ye kindred suns on high, ye glorious spheres,Whom have ye seen, in twice three thousand years,Whom have ye seen, like these, of mortal birth;Though Archimede and Horace blest the earth?Barbarians, from th' Equator to the Poles,Hark! reason calls! wisdom awakes your souls!Ye regions, ignorant of Walpole's name;Ye climes, where kings shall ne'er extend their fame;Where men, miscall'd, God's image have defaced,Their form belied, and human shape disgraced!Ye two-legg'd wolves! slaves! superstition's sons!Lords! soldiers! holy Vandals! modern Huns!Boors, mufties, monks; in Russia, Turkey, Spain!Who does not know SIR ISAAC, and THE DEAN?
Words in this poem
- cimmerian a.
- Pertaining to the Cimmerii, a fabulous people, said to have lived, in very ancient times, in profound and perpetual darkness. [L. Cimmerius.]
- 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
Epigram on Two Great Men. 1754 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, Epigram on Two Great Men. 1754, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/epigram-on-two-great-men-1754.html, id L09442.
Form and metre
Epigram on Two Great Men. 1754 is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ graceA · raceA · bornB · adornB · dayC · awayC · spheresD · yearsD · birthE · earthE · polesF · soulsF · nameG · fameG · defacedH · disgracedH · sonsI · hunsI · spainJ · deanJ
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Two geniuses one age and nation grace! | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| Pride of our isles, and boast of human race! | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Great sage! great bard! supreme in knowledge born! | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| The world to mend, enlighten, and adorn. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Truth on Cimmerian darkness pours the day! | 11 | ··˘/˘˘/˘··· |
| Wit drives in smiles the gloom of minds away! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Ye kindred suns on high, ye glorious spheres, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Whom have ye seen, in twice three thousand years, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whom have ye seen, like these, of mortal birth; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Though Archimede and Horace blest the earth? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Barbarians, from th' Equator to the Poles, | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Hark! reason calls! wisdom awakes your souls! | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘/·· |
| Ye regions, ignorant of Walpole's name; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/·· |
| Ye climes, where kings shall ne'er extend their fame; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Where men, miscall'd, God's image have defaced, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Their form belied, and human shape disgraced! | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Ye two-legg'd wolves! slaves! superstition's sons! | 11 | ··/˘···˘/˘· |
| Lords! soldiers! holy Vandals! modern Huns! | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Boors, mufties, monks; in Russia, Turkey, Spain! | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| Who does not know SIR ISAAC, and THE DEAN? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
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.