Poem II
O Genius of Hibernia's state,Sublimely good, severely great,How doth this latest act excelAll you have done or wrote so well!Satire may be the child of spite,And fame might bid the Drapier write:But to relieve, and to endow,Creatures that know not whence or howArgues a soul both good and wise,Resembling Him who rules the skies,He to the thoughtful mind displaysImmortal skill ten thousand ways;And, to complete his glorious task,Gives what we have not sense to ask!
Words in this poem
- sublimely adv.
- In a sublime manner.
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- relieve v. t.
- To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem II 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, Poem II, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/poem-ii.html, id L09438.
Form and metre
Poem II is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 21% 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 stateA · greatA · excelB · wellB · spiteC · writeC · endowD · howD · wiseE · skiesE · displaysF · waysF · taskG · askG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O Genius of Hibernia's state, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Sublimely good, severely great, | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| How doth this latest act excel | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| All you have done or wrote so well! | 8 | ········ |
| Satire may be the child of spite, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And fame might bid the Drapier write: | 8 | ········ |
| But to relieve, and to endow, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Creatures that know not whence or how | 8 | /˘······ |
| Argues a soul both good and wise, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Resembling Him who rules the skies, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| He to the thoughtful mind displays | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Immortal skill ten thousand ways; | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| And, to complete his glorious task, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Gives what we have not sense to ask! | 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.