Upon Carthy's Threatening to Translate Pindar
You have undone Horace,--what should hinderThy Muse from falling upon Pindar?But ere you mount his fiery steed,Beware, O Bard, how you proceed:--For should you give him once the reins,High up in air he'll turn your brains;And if you should his fury check,'Tis ten to one he breaks your neck.
Carthy, you say, writes well--his genius true,You pawn your word for him--he'll vouch for you.So two poor knaves, who find their credit fail,To cheat the world, become each other's bail.
Words in this poem
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- pindar n.
- The peanut (Arachis hypogæa); -- so called in the West Indies. [D. piendel.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- vouch v. t.
- To call; to summon. [OE. vouchen, OF. vochier to call, fr. L. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice. See Voice, and cf. Avouch.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Upon Carthy's Threatening to Translate Pindar 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, Upon Carthy's Threatening to Translate Pindar, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/upon-carthy-s-threatening-to-translate-pindar.html, id L09370.
Form and metre
Upon Carthy's Threatening to Translate Pindar is 12 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic 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 8.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 --AABBCC hinder · pindar · steedA · proceedA · reinsB · brainsB · checkC · neckC
- 2 AABB trueA · youA · failB · bailB
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 iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| You have undone Horace,--what should hinder | 10 | ··˘//˘··/˘ |
| Thy Muse from falling upon Pindar? | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| But ere you mount his fiery steed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Beware, O Bard, how you proceed:-- | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| For should you give him once the reins, | 8 | ········ |
| High up in air he'll turn your brains; | 8 | ········ |
| And if you should his fury check, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Tis ten to one he breaks your neck. | 8 | ········ |
| Carthy, you say, writes well--his genius true, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| You pawn your word for him--he'll vouch for you. | 10 | ·········· |
| So two poor knaves, who find their credit fail, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To cheat the world, become each other's bail. | 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.