The Speech
Whereas, notwithstanding I am in great pain,To hear we are making a peace without Spain;But, most noble senators, 'tis a great shame,There should be a peace, while I'm Not-in-game.The duke show'd me all his fine house; and the duchessFrom her closet brought out a full purse in her clutches:I talk'd of a peace, and they both gave a start,His grace swore by G--d, and her grace let a f--t:My long old-fashion'd pocket was presently cramm'd;And sooner than vote for a peace I'll be damn'd.But some will cry turn-coat, and rip up old stories,How I always pretended to be for the Tories:I answer; the Tories were in my good graces,Till all my relations were put into places.But still I'm in principle ever the same,And will quit my best friends, while I'm Not-in-game.When I and some others subscribed our namesTo a plot for expelling my master King James,I withdrew my subscription by help of a blot,And so might discover or gain by the plot:I had my advantage, and stood at defiance,For Daniel was got from the den of the lions:I came in without danger, and was I to blame?For, rather than hang, I would be Not-in-game.I swore to the queen, that the Prince of HanoverDuring her sacred life would never come over:I made use of a trope; that "an heir to invite,Was like keeping her monument always in sight."But, when I thought proper, I alter'd my note;And in her own hearing I boldly did vote,That her Majesty stood in great need of a tutor,And must have an old or a young coadjutor:For why; I would fain have put all in a flame,Because, for some reasons, I was Not-in-game.Now my new benefactors have brought me about,And I'll vote against peace, with Spain or without:Though the court gives my nephews, and brothers, and cousins,And all my whole family, places by dozens;Yet, since I know where a full purse may be found,And hardly pay eighteen-pence tax in the pound:Since the Tories have thus disappointed my hopes,And will neither regard my figures nor tropes,I'll speech against peace while Dismal's my name,And be a true Whig, while I'm Not-in-game.
Words in this poem
- whereas adv.
- At which place; where.
- duke n.
- A leader; a chief; a prince. [F. duc, fr. L. dux, ducis, leader, commander, fr. ducere to lead; akin to AS. teón to draw; cf. AS. heretoga (here army) an army leader, general, G. herzog duke]
- duchess n.
- The wife or widow of a duke; also, a lady who has the sovereignty of a duchy in her own right. [F. duchesse, fr. duc duke.]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- subscription n.
- The act of subscribing. [L. subscriptio: cf. F. souscription.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- coadjutor n.
- One who aids another; an assistant; a coworker. [L. See Co-, and Aid.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- disappointed a.
- Defeated of expectation or hope; balked; as, a disappointed person or hope.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Speech 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 Speech, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/the-speech-2.html, id L25681.
Form and metre
The Speech is 44 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 77% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.9 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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 AABB----CCDD--EEFFGG--HH--IIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ painA · spainA · shameB · gameB · duchess · clutches · start · t · cramm'dC · damn'dC · storiesD · toriesD · graces · places · sameE · gameE · namesF · jamesF · blotG · plotG · defiance · lions · blameH · gameH · hanover · over · inviteI · sightI · noteJ · voteJ · tutorK · coadjutorK · flameL · gameL · aboutM · withoutM · cousinsN · dozensN · foundO · poundO · hopesP · tropesP · nameQ · gameQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Whereas, notwithstanding I am in great pain, | 11 | ˘/·˘/˘····· |
| To hear we are making a peace without Spain; | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| But, most noble senators, 'tis a great shame, | 11 | ··/˘/˘˘···· |
| There should be a peace, while I'm Not-in-game. | 10 | ·········· |
| The duke show'd me all his fine house; and the duchess | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| From her closet brought out a full purse in her clutches: | 13 | ··/˘·······/˘ |
| I talk'd of a peace, and they both gave a start, | 11 | ··········· |
| His grace swore by G--d, and her grace let a f--t: | 13 | ············· |
| My long old-fashion'd pocket was presently cramm'd; | 11 | ···/˘/˘·/˘· |
| And sooner than vote for a peace I'll be damn'd. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| But some will cry turn-coat, and rip up old stories, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| How I always pretended to be for the Tories: | 13 | ··/·˘/˘····/˘ |
| I answer; the Tories were in my good graces, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| Till all my relations were put into places. | 12 | ···˘/˘····/˘ |
| But still I'm in principle ever the same, | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| And will quit my best friends, while I'm Not-in-game. | 11 | ··········· |
| When I and some others subscribed our names | 11 | ····/˘˘//˘· |
| To a plot for expelling my master King James, | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| I withdrew my subscription by help of a blot, | 12 | ·˘/·˘/˘····· |
| And so might discover or gain by the plot: | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| I had my advantage, and stood at defiance, | 12 | ···˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| For Daniel was got from the den of the lions: | 12 | ·/˘·······/˘ |
| I came in without danger, and was I to blame? | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| For, rather than hang, I would be Not-in-game. | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| I swore to the queen, that the Prince of Hanover | 12 | ·········/˘˘ |
| During her sacred life would never come over: | 11 | /˘·/˘··/··· |
| I made use of a trope; that "an heir to invite, | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Was like keeping her monument always in sight." | 11 | ··/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| But, when I thought proper, I alter'd my note; | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And in her own hearing I boldly did vote, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| That her Majesty stood in great need of a tutor, | 12 | ··/˘······/˘ |
| And must have an old or a young coadjutor: | 11 | ··········· |
| For why; I would fain have put all in a flame, | 11 | ··········· |
| Because, for some reasons, I was Not-in-game. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Now my new benefactors have brought me about, | 12 | ···/˘·˘····· |
| And I'll vote against peace, with Spain or without: | 11 | ··········· |
| Though the court gives my nephews, and brothers, and cousins, | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| And all my whole family, places by dozens; | 12 | ····/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| Yet, since I know where a full purse may be found, | 11 | ··········· |
| And hardly pay eighteen-pence tax in the pound: | 11 | ·/˘·˘/····· |
| Since the Tories have thus disappointed my hopes, | 12 | ··/˘···˘/˘·· |
| And will neither regard my figures nor tropes, | 11 | ··/˘˘/·/˘·· |
| I'll speech against peace while Dismal's my name, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And be a true Whig, while I'm Not-in-game. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 1
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 22 This was the Earl's Christian name.
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.