To the Same. By Dr. Sheridan
SIR,Perhaps you may wonder, I send you so soonAnother epistle; consider 'tis noon.For all his acquaintance well know that friend Tom is,Whenever he makes one, as good as his promise.Now Phoebus exalted, sits high on his throne,Dividing the heav'ns, dividing my crown,Into poems and business, my skull's split in two,One side for the lawyers, and t'other for you.With my left eye, I see you sit snug in your stall,With my right I'm attending the lawyers that scrawlWith my left I behold your bellower a cur chase;With my right I'm a-reading my deeds for a purchase.My left ear's attending the hymns of the choir,My right ear is stunn'd with the noise of the crier.My right hand's inditing these lines to your reverence,My left is indenting for me and heirs ever-hence.Although in myself I'm divided in two,Dear Dean, I shall ne'er be divided from you.
Words in this poem
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- scrawl v. t.
- To draw or mark awkwardly and irregularly; to write hastily and carelessly; to scratch; to scribble; as, to scrawl a letter. [Probably corrupted from scrabble.]
- bellower n.
- One who, or that which, bellows.
- indenting n.
- Indentation; an impression like that made by a tooth.
- 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
To the Same. By Dr. Sheridan 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, To the Same. By Dr. Sheridan, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/to-the-same-by-dr-sheridan.html, id L09398.
Form and metre
To the Same. By Dr. Sheridan is 19 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% 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 -AA----BBCCDDEEFFBB sir · soonA · noonA · is · promise · throne · crown · twoB · youB · stallC · scrawlC · chaseD · purchaseD · choirE · crierE · reverenceF · henceF · twoB · youB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SIR, | 1 | · |
| Perhaps you may wonder, I send you so soon | 11 | ˘/··/˘····· |
| Another epistle; consider 'tis noon. | 11 | ˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| For all his acquaintance well know that friend Tom is, | 12 | ···˘/˘······ |
| Whenever he makes one, as good as his promise. | 12 | ˘/˘·······/˘ |
| Now Phoebus exalted, sits high on his throne, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘····· |
| Dividing the heav'ns, dividing my crown, | 10 | ˘/˘··˘/˘·· |
| Into poems and business, my skull's split in two, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| One side for the lawyers, and t'other for you. | 12 | ····/˘·˘/˘·· |
| With my left eye, I see you sit snug in your stall, | 12 | ············ |
| With my right I'm attending the lawyers that scrawl | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| With my left I behold your bellower a cur chase; | 13 | ····˘/·/˘˘··· |
| With my right I'm a-reading my deeds for a purchase. | 13 | ·····/˘····/˘ |
| My left ear's attending the hymns of the choir, | 12 | ···˘/˘····/˘ |
| My right ear is stunn'd with the noise of the crier. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| My right hand's inditing these lines to your reverence, | 13 | ···˘/˘····/˘˘ |
| My left is indenting for me and heirs ever-hence. | 12 | ···˘/˘····/· |
| Although in myself I'm divided in two, | 11 | ····/·˘/˘·· |
| Dear Dean, I shall ne'er be divided from you. | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
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.