On Gold
All-ruling tyrant of the earth,To vilest slaves I owe my birth,How is the greatest monarch blest,When in my gaudy livery drest!No haughty nymph has power to runFrom me; or my embraces shun.Stabb'd to the heart, condemn'd to flame,My constancy is still the same.The favourite messenger of Jove,And Lemnian god, consulting stroveTo make me glorious to the sightOf mortals, and the gods' delight.Soon would their altar's flame expireIf I refused to lend them fire.
By fate exalted high in place,Lo, here I stand with double face:Superior none on earth I find;But see below me all mankindYet, as it oft attends the great,I almost sink with my own weight.
At every motion undertook,The vulgar all consult my look.I sometimes give advice in writing,But never of my own inditing.I am a courtier in my way;For those who raised me, I betray;And some give out that I enticeTo lust, to luxury, and dice.Who punishments on me inflict,Because they find their pockets pickt.By riding post, I lose my health,And only to get others wealth.
Words in this poem
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- 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.]
- lemnian a.
- Of or pertaining to the isle of Lemnos. Lemnian bole, Lemnian earth, an aluminous earth of a grayish yellow color; sphragide; -- formerly sold as medicine, having astringent properties.
- consulting a.
- That consults. Consulting physician (Med.), a physician who consults with the attending practitioner regarding any case of disease.
- 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.]
- consult n.
- The act of consulting or deliberating; consultation; also, the result of consulation; determination; decision.
- courtier n.
- One who is in attendance at the court of a prince; one who has an appointment at court. [From Court.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Gold 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 Gold, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/on-gold.html, id L09252.
Form and metre
On Gold is 32 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG earthA · birthA · blestB · drestB · runC · shunC · flameD · sameD · joveE · stroveE · sightF · delightF · expireG · fireG
- 2 AABBCC placeA · faceA · findB · mankindB · greatC · weightC
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFF undertookA · lookA · writingB · inditingB · wayC · betrayC · enticeD · diceD · inflictE · picktE · healthF · wealthF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| All-ruling tyrant of the earth, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To vilest slaves I owe my birth, | 8 | ········ |
| How is the greatest monarch blest, | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| When in my gaudy livery drest! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| No haughty nymph has power to run | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| From me; or my embraces shun. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Stabb'd to the heart, condemn'd to flame, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My constancy is still the same. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| The favourite messenger of Jove, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And Lemnian god, consulting strove | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘· |
| To make me glorious to the sight | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of mortals, and the gods' delight. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Soon would their altar's flame expire | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| If I refused to lend them fire. | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| By fate exalted high in place, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Lo, here I stand with double face: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Superior none on earth I find; | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| But see below me all mankind | 8 | ······// |
| Yet, as it oft attends the great, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| I almost sink with my own weight. | 8 | ·/······ |
| At every motion undertook, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The vulgar all consult my look. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| I sometimes give advice in writing, | 9 | ·/··˘/·/˘ |
| But never of my own inditing. | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| I am a courtier in my way; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For those who raised me, I betray; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And some give out that I entice | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To lust, to luxury, and dice. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Who punishments on me inflict, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| Because they find their pockets pickt. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By riding post, I lose my health, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And only to get others wealth. | 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.