The Speech
May it please your Grace,We cannot omit this occasion to tell,That we love the Queen's person and government well;Then next, to your Grace we this compliment make,That our worships regard you, but 'tis for her sake:Though our mouth be a Whig, and our head a Dissenter,Yet salute you we must, 'cause you represent her:Nor can we forget, sir, that some of your lineDid with mildness and peace in this government shine.But of all your exploits, we'll allow but one fact,That your Grace has procured us a Popery Act.By this you may see that the least of your actionsDoes conduce still the most to our satisfactions.And lastly, because in the year eighty-eightYou did early appear in defence of our right,We give no other proof of your zeal to your Prince;So we freely forget all your services since.It's then only we hope, that whilst you rule o'er us,You'll tread in the steps of King William the glorious,Whom we're always adoring, tho' hand over head,For we owe him allegiance, although he be dead;Which shows that good zeal may be founded in spleen,Since a dead Prince we worship, to lessen the Queen.And as for her Majesty, we will defend herAgainst our hobgoblin, the Popish Pretender.Our valiant militia will stoutly stand by her,Against the sly Jack, and the sturdy High-flier.She is safe when thus guarded, if Providence bless her,And Hanover's sure to be next her successor.Thus ended the speech, but what heart would not pityHis Grace, almost choked with the breath of the City!
Words in this poem
- conduce v. t.
- To conduct; to lead; to guide.
- lastly adv.
- In the last place; in conclusion.
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- 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.]
- hobgoblin n.
- A frightful goblin; an imp; a bugaboo; also, a name formerly given to the household spirit, Robin Goodfellow. [See 2d Hob, and Goblin.]
- popish a.
- Of or pertaining to the pope; taught or ordained by the pope; hence, of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church; -- often used opprobriously.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- stoutly adv.
- In a stout manner; lustily; boldly; obstinately; as, he stoutly defended himself.
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.html, id L09299.
Form and metre
The Speech is 31 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 65% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 78% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.3 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% 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--CCDDEE--FFGGHHII------JJ grace · tellA · wellA · makeB · sakeB · dissenter · her · lineC · shineC · factD · actD · actionsE · satisfactionsE · eight · right · princeF · sinceF · usG · gloriousG · headH · deadH · spleenI · queenI · her · pretender · her · flier · her · successor · pityJ · cityJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| May it please your Grace, | 5 | ····· |
| We cannot omit this occasion to tell, | 11 | ·/˘˘/·˘/˘·· |
| That we love the Queen's person and government well; | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘˘· |
| Then next, to your Grace we this compliment make, | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| That our worships regard you, but 'tis for her sake: | 12 | ·//˘˘/······ |
| Though our mouth be a Whig, and our head a Dissenter, | 13 | ·/·····/··˘/˘ |
| Yet salute you we must, 'cause you represent her: | 12 | ·˘/······˘/· |
| Nor can we forget, sir, that some of your line | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Did with mildness and peace in this government shine. | 12 | ··/˘····/˘˘· |
| But of all your exploits, we'll allow but one fact, | 12 | ····/··˘/··· |
| That your Grace has procured us a Popery Act. | 12 | ····˘/··/˘˘· |
| By this you may see that the least of your actions | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Does conduce still the most to our satisfactions. | 13 | ·˘/····/˘·˘/˘ |
| And lastly, because in the year eighty-eight | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| You did early appear in defence of our right, | 12 | ··/˘˘/·˘/·/· |
| We give no other proof of your zeal to your Prince; | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| So we freely forget all your services since. | 12 | ··/˘˘/··/˘˘· |
| It's then only we hope, that whilst you rule o'er us, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| You'll tread in the steps of King William the glorious, | 13 | ·······/˘·/˘˘ |
| Whom we're always adoring, tho' hand over head, | 12 | ··/·˘/˘····· |
| For we owe him allegiance, although he be dead; | 12 | ····˘/˘····· |
| Which shows that good zeal may be founded in spleen, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Since a dead Prince we worship, to lessen the Queen. | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| And as for her Majesty, we will defend her | 12 | ····/˘˘··˘/· |
| Against our hobgoblin, the Popish Pretender. | 12 | ··/˘/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Our valiant militia will stoutly stand by her, | 12 | //˘˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Against the sly Jack, and the sturdy High-flier. | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| She is safe when thus guarded, if Providence bless her, | 12 | ·····/˘·/˘·· |
| And Hanover's sure to be next her successor. | 12 | ·/˘˘·····˘/˘ |
| Thus ended the speech, but what heart would not pity | 12 | ·/˘·······/˘ |
| His Grace, almost choked with the breath of the City! | 12 | ··/·······/˘ |
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.