Verses Occasioned by Whitshed's Motto on His Coach. 1724
Libertas et natale solum:Fine words! I wonder where you stole 'em.Could nothing but thy chief reproachServe for a motto on thy coach?But let me now the words translate:Natale solum, my estate;My dear estate, how well I love it,My tenants, if you doubt, will prove it,They swear I am so kind and good,I hug them till I squeeze their blood.Libertas bears a large import:First, how to swagger in a court;And, secondly, to show my furyAgainst an uncomplying jury;And, thirdly, 'tis a new invention,To favour Wood, and keep my pension;And, fourthly, 'tis to play an odd trick,Get the great seal and turn out Broderick;And, fifthly, (you know whom I mean,)To humble that vexatious Dean:And, sixthly, for my soul to barter itFor fifty times its worth to Carteret.Now since your motto thus you construe,I must confess you've spoken once true.Libertas et natale solum:You had good reason when you stole 'em.
Words in this poem
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- swagger v. i.
- To walk with a swaying motion; hence, to walk and act in a pompous, consequential manner. [Freq. of swag.]
- secondly adv.
- In the second place.
- thirdly adv.
- In the third place.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- fourthly adv.
- In the fourth place.
- fifthly adv.
- In the fifth place; as the fifth in order.
- sixthly adv.
- In the sixth place.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Verses Occasioned by Whitshed's Motto on His Coach. 1724 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, Verses Occasioned by Whitshed's Motto on His Coach. 1724, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/verses-occasioned-by-whitshed-s-motto-on-his-coach-1724.html, id L09324.
Form and metre
Verses Occasioned by Whitshed's Motto on His Coach. 1724 is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKEELLAB solumA · emB · reproachC · coachC · translateD · estateD · itE · itE · goodF · bloodF · importG · courtG · furyH · juryH · inventionI · pensionI · trickJ · broderickJ · meanK · deanK · itE · carteretE · construeL · trueL · solumA · emB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Libertas et natale solum: | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Fine words! I wonder where you stole 'em. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Could nothing but thy chief reproach | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Serve for a motto on thy coach? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But let me now the words translate: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Natale solum, my estate; | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| My dear estate, how well I love it, | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| My tenants, if you doubt, will prove it, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| They swear I am so kind and good, | 8 | ········ |
| I hug them till I squeeze their blood. | 8 | ········ |
| Libertas bears a large import: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| First, how to swagger in a court; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, secondly, to show my fury | 9 | ·/˘˘···/˘ |
| Against an uncomplying jury; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And, thirdly, 'tis a new invention, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| To favour Wood, and keep my pension; | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And, fourthly, 'tis to play an odd trick, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Get the great seal and turn out Broderick; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And, fifthly, (you know whom I mean,) | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To humble that vexatious Dean: | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And, sixthly, for my soul to barter it | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For fifty times its worth to Carteret. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Now since your motto thus you construe, | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| I must confess you've spoken once true. | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| Libertas et natale solum: | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| You had good reason when you stole 'em. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
Notes from the edition 3
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 1 This motto is repeatedly mentioned in the Drapier's Letters.--Scott.
- Line 18 Allan Broderick, Lord Middleton, was then lord-chancellor of Ireland. See the Drapier's Letters, "Prose Works," vi, 135.--W. E. B.
- Line 22 Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.
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