On Dr. Swift's Leaving His Estate to Idiots
Swift, wondrous genius, bright intelligence,Pities the orphan's, idiot's want of sense;And rich in supernumerary pelf,Adopts posterity unlike himself.To one great individual wit's confined!Such eunuchs never propagate their kind.Thus nature's prodigies bestow the giftsOf fortune, their descendants are no Swifts.When did prime statesman, for a sceptre fitHis ministerial successor beget?No age, no state, no world, can hope to seeTwo SWIFTS or WALPOLES in one family.
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- supernumerary a.
- Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment. [L. supernumerarius: cf. OF. supernuméraire, F. surnuméraire. See Super-, and Numerary, Number.]
- pelf n.
- Money; riches; lucre; gain; -- generally conveying the idea of something ill-gotten or worthless. It has no plural. [OE. pelfir booty, OF. pelfre, akin to pelfrer to plunder, and perh. to E. pillage. Cf. Pilfer.]
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- ministerial a.
- Of or pertaining to ministry or service; serving; attendant. [L. ministerialis: cf. F. ministériel. See Minister, and cf. Minstrel.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Dr. Swift's Leaving His Estate to Idiots 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's Leaving His Estate to Idiots, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/on-dr-swift-s-leaving-his-estate-to-idiots.html, id L09446.
Form and metre
On Dr. Swift's Leaving His Estate to Idiots is 12 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.6 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCCDD---- intelligenceA · senseA · pelfB · himselfB · confinedC · kindC · giftsD · swiftsD · fit · beget · see · family
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Swift, wondrous genius, bright intelligence, | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Pities the orphan's, idiot's want of sense; | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| And rich in supernumerary pelf, | 10 | ·········· |
| Adopts posterity unlike himself. | 9 | ˘/˘/˘˘/˘/ |
| To one great individual wit's confined! | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Such eunuchs never propagate their kind. | 9 | ·/˘//˘··· |
| Thus nature's prodigies bestow the gifts | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘/·· |
| Of fortune, their descendants are no Swifts. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| When did prime statesman, for a sceptre fit | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| His ministerial successor beget? | 10 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| No age, no state, no world, can hope to see | 10 | ·········· |
| Two SWIFTS or WALPOLES in one family. | 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.