Ornamented with an Engraving of the Dean, by Vertue
In a little dark room at the back of his shop,Where poets and scribes have dined on a chop,Poor Faulkner sate musing alone thus of late,"Two volumes are done--it is time for the plate;Yes, time to be sure;--but on whom shall I callTo express the great Swift in a compass so small?Faith, Vertue shall do it, I'm pleased at the thought,Be the cost what it will--the copper is bought."Apollo o'erheard, (who as some people guess,Had a hand in the work, and corrected the press;)And pleased, he replied, "Honest George, you are right,The thought was my own, howsoe'er you came by't.For though both the wit and the style is my gift,'Tis VERTUE alone can design us a SWIFT."
Words in this poem
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- 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
Ornamented with an Engraving of the Dean, by Vertue 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, Ornamented with an Engraving of the Dean, by Vertue, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/ornamented-with-an-engraving-of-the-dean-by-vertue.html, id L09448.
Form and metre
Ornamented with an Engraving of the Dean, by Vertue is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 86% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.9 syllables. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic 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 AABBCCDDEE--FF shopA · chopA · lateB · plateB · callC · smallC · thoughtD · boughtD · guessE · pressE · right · by't · giftF · swiftF
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In a little dark room at the back of his shop, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Where poets and scribes have dined on a chop, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Poor Faulkner sate musing alone thus of late, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘/··· |
| "Two volumes are done--it is time for the plate; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Yes, time to be sure;--but on whom shall I call | 11 | ··········· |
| To express the great Swift in a compass so small? | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘·· |
| Faith, Vertue shall do it, I'm pleased at the thought, | 10 | ·········· |
| Be the cost what it will--the copper is bought." | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Apollo o'erheard, (who as some people guess, | 11 | ˘/˘·····/˘· |
| Had a hand in the work, and corrected the press;) | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| And pleased, he replied, "Honest George, you are right, | 11 | ···˘//˘···· |
| The thought was my own, howsoe'er you came by't. | 10 | ·········· |
| For though both the wit and the style is my gift, | 11 | ··········· |
| 'Tis VERTUE alone can design us a SWIFT." | 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.