Tom and Dick
Tim and Dick had equal fame,And both had equal knowledge;Tom could write and spell his name,But Dick had seen the college.
Dick a coxcomb, Tom was mad,And both alike diverting;Tom was held the merrier lad,But Dick the best at farting.
Dick would cock his nose in scorn,But Tom was kind and loving;Tom a footboy bred and born,But Dick was from an oven.
Dick could neatly dance a jig,But Tom was best at borees;Tom would pray for every Whig,And Dick curse all the Tories.
Dick would make a woful noise,And scold at an election;Tom huzza'd the blackguard boys,And held them in subjection.
Tom could move with lordly grace,Dick nimbly skipt the gutter;Tom could talk with solemn face,But Dick could better sputter.
Dick was come to high renownSince he commenced physician;Tom was held by all the townThe deeper politician.
Tom had the genteeler swing,His hat could nicely put on;Dick knew better how to swingHis cane upon a button.
Dick for repartee was fit,And Tom for deep discerning;Dick was thought the brighter wit,But Tom had better learning.
Dick with zealous noes and ayesCould roar as loud as Stentor,In the house 'tis all he says;But Tom is eloquenter.
Parliament forces with bread during the civil wars. Hence Swift calls himElsewhere Pistorides. See "Prose Works," vii, 233; and in "The Legion
Words in this poem
- footboy n.
- A page; an attendant in livery; a lackey.
- woful a.
- Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity; afflicted; wretched; unhappy; sad.
- sputter v. i.
- To spit, or to emit saliva from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking. [From the root of spout or spit to eject from the mputh. Cf. Splutter.]
- repartee n.
- A smart, ready, and witty reply. [F. repartie, fr. repartir to reply, depart again; pref. re- re- partir to part, depart. See Part.]
- stentor n.
- A herald, in the Iliad, who had a very loud voice; hence, any person having a powerful voice.
- parliament n.
- A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Tom and Dick 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, Tom and Dick, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/tom-and-dick.html, id L09340.
Form and metre
Tom and Dick is 42 lines in 11 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 18 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABAB fameA · knowledgeB · nameA · collegeB
- 2 A-A- madA · diverting · ladA · farting
- 3 A-A- scornA · loving · bornA · oven
- 4 A-A- jigA · borees · whigA · tories
- 5 ABAB noiseA · electionB · boysA · subjectionB
- 6 ABAB graceA · gutterB · faceA · sputterB
- 7 ABAB renownA · physicianB · townA · politicianB
- 8 ABAB swingA · onB · swingA · buttonB
- 9 ABAB fitA · discerningB · witA · learningB
- 10 -A-A ayes · stentorA · says · eloquenterA
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Tim and Dick had equal fame, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And both had equal knowledge; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Tom could write and spell his name, | 7 | ······· |
| But Dick had seen the college. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dick a coxcomb, Tom was mad, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And both alike diverting; | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Tom was held the merrier lad, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| But Dick the best at farting. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dick would cock his nose in scorn, | 7 | ······· |
| But Tom was kind and loving; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Tom a footboy bred and born, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But Dick was from an oven. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dick could neatly dance a jig, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But Tom was best at borees; | 6 | ······ |
| Tom would pray for every Whig, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| And Dick curse all the Tories. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dick would make a woful noise, | 7 | ······· |
| And scold at an election; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Tom huzza'd the blackguard boys, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And held them in subjection. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Tom could move with lordly grace, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Dick nimbly skipt the gutter; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Tom could talk with solemn face, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But Dick could better sputter. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Dick was come to high renown | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Since he commenced physician; | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Tom was held by all the town | 7 | ······· |
| The deeper politician. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Tom had the genteeler swing, | 7 | ······· |
| His hat could nicely put on; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Dick knew better how to swing | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| His cane upon a button. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Dick for repartee was fit, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| And Tom for deep discerning; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Dick was thought the brighter wit, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But Tom had better learning. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Dick with zealous noes and ayes | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Could roar as loud as Stentor, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In the house 'tis all he says; | 7 | ······· |
| But Tom is eloquenter. | 7 | ······· |
| Parliament forces with bread during the civil wars. Hence Swift calls him | 16 | /˘/˘··/˘·/˘····· |
| Elsewhere Pistorides. See "Prose Works," vii, 233; and in "The Legion | 14 | /···········/˘ |
Notes from the edition 2
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Stanza 1, line 1 Sir Thomas Prendergast. See post, "The Legion Club."
- Stanza 3, line 4 Tighe's ancestor was a contractor for furnishing the Parliament forces with bread during the civil wars. Hence Swift calls him Elsewhere Pistorides. See "Prose Works," vii, 233; and in "The Legion Club," Dick Fitzbaker.--W.E.B.
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