On a Pair of Dice
We are little brethren twain,Arbiters of loss and gain,Many to our counters run,Some are made, and some undone:But men find it to their cost,Few are made, but numbers lost.Though we play them tricks for ever,Yet they always hope our favour.
Words in this poem
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On a Pair of Dice 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, On a Pair of Dice, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/on-a-pair-of-dice.html, id L09270.
Form and metre
On a Pair of Dice is 8 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 75% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AABBCC-- twainA · gainA · runB · undoneB · costC · lostC · ever · favour
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We are little brethren twain, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Arbiters of loss and gain, | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| Many to our counters run, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Some are made, and some undone: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But men find it to their cost, | 7 | ······· |
| Few are made, but numbers lost. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Though we play them tricks for ever, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Yet they always hope our favour. | 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.