On Dr. Swift 1733
No pedant Bentley proud, uncouth,Nor sweetening dedicator smooth,In one attempt has ever daredTo sap, or storm, this mighty bard,Nor Envy does, nor ignorance,Make on his works the least advance.For this, behold! still flies afarWhere'er his genius does appear;Nor has that aught to do above,So meddles not with Swift and Jove.A faithful, universal fameIn glory spreads abroad his name;Pronounces Swift, with loudest breath,Immortal grown before his death.
Words in this poem
- pedant n.
- A schoolmaster; a pedagogue. [F. pédant, It. pedante, fr. Gr. pai^s boy. See Pedagogue.]
- sweetening n.
- The act of making sweet.
- dedicator n.
- One who dedicates; more especially, one who inscribes a book to the favor of a patron, or to one whom he desires to compliment. [L.: cf. F. dédicateur.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Dr. Swift 1733 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 Dr. Swift 1733, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/on-dr-swift-1733.html, id L09437.
Form and metre
On Dr. Swift 1733 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ----AA----BBCC uncouth · smooth · dared · bard · ignoranceA · advanceA · afar · appear · above · jove · fameB · nameB · breathC · deathC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No pedant Bentley proud, uncouth, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·// |
| Nor sweetening dedicator smooth, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| In one attempt has ever dared | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| To sap, or storm, this mighty bard, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor Envy does, nor ignorance, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Make on his works the least advance. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For this, behold! still flies afar | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Where'er his genius does appear; | 9 | ˘˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Nor has that aught to do above, | 8 | ········ |
| So meddles not with Swift and Jove. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A faithful, universal fame | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| In glory spreads abroad his name; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Pronounces Swift, with loudest breath, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Immortal grown before his death. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
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.