The Dean's Answer
The nymph who wrote this in an amorous fit,I cannot but envy the pride of her wit,Which thus she will venture profusely to throwOn so mean a design, and a subject so low.For mean's her design, and her subject as mean,The first but a rebus, the last but a dean.A dean's but a parson: and what is a rebus?A thing never known to the Muses or Phoebus.The corruption of verse; for, when all is done,It is but a paraphrase made on a pun.But a genius like hers no subject can stifle,It shows and discovers itself through a trifle.By reading this trifle, I quickly beganTo find her a great wit, but the dean a small man.Rich ladies will furnish their garrets with stuff,Which others for mantuas would think fine enough:So the wit that is lavishly thrown away here,Might furnish a second-rate poet a year.Thus much for the verse, we proceed to the next,Where the nymph has entirely forsaken her text:Her fine panegyrics are quite out of season:And what she describes to be merit, is treason:The changes which faction has made in the state,Have put the dean's politics quite out of date:Now no one regards what he utters with freedom,And, should he write pamphlets, no great man would read 'em;And, should want or desert stand in need of his aid,This racer would prove but a dull founder'd jade.
Words in this poem
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- profusely adv.
- In a profuse manner.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- lavishly adv.
- In a lavish manner.
- racer n.
- One who, or that which, races, or contends in a race; esp., a race horse.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Dean's Answer 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, The Dean's Answer, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/the-dean-s-answer.html, id L09231.
Form and metre
The Dean's Answer is 28 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.3 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNN fitA · witA · throwB · lowB · meanC · deanC · rebusD · phoebusD · doneE · punE · stifleF · trifleF · beganG · manG · stuffH · enoughH · hereI · yearI · nextJ · textJ · seasonK · treasonK · stateL · dateL · freedomM · emM · aidN · jadeN
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The nymph who wrote this in an amorous fit, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I cannot but envy the pride of her wit, | 11 | ·˘/·/˘····· |
| Which thus she will venture profusely to throw | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| On so mean a design, and a subject so low. | 12 | ····˘/··˘/·· |
| For mean's her design, and her subject as mean, | 11 | ···˘/··˘/·· |
| The first but a rebus, the last but a dean. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| A dean's but a parson: and what is a rebus? | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| A thing never known to the Muses or Phoebus. | 11 | ··/···/˘·/˘ |
| The corruption of verse; for, when all is done, | 11 | ·˘/˘······· |
| It is but a paraphrase made on a pun. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| But a genius like hers no subject can stifle, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/·/˘ |
| It shows and discovers itself through a trifle. | 12 | ···˘/˘˘/··/˘ |
| By reading this trifle, I quickly began | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| To find her a great wit, but the dean a small man. | 12 | ············ |
| Rich ladies will furnish their garrets with stuff, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Which others for mantuas would think fine enough: | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| So the wit that is lavishly thrown away here, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/· |
| Might furnish a second-rate poet a year. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Thus much for the verse, we proceed to the next, | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Where the nymph has entirely forsaken her text: | 12 | ····˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| Her fine panegyrics are quite out of season: | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| And what she describes to be merit, is treason: | 12 | ···˘/··/˘·/˘ |
| The changes which faction has made in the state, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Have put the dean's politics quite out of date: | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Now no one regards what he utters with freedom, | 12 | ···˘/··/˘·/˘ |
| And, should he write pamphlets, no great man would read 'em; | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| And, should want or desert stand in need of his aid, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| This racer would prove but a dull founder'd jade. | 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.