Verses on Blenheim
Atria longa patent. Sed nec cenantibus usquamNec somno locus est. Quam bene non habitas!MART., lib. xii, Ep. 50.
See, here's the grand approach,That way is for his grace's coach;There lies the bridge, and there the clock,Observe the lion and the cock;The spacious court, the colonnade,And mind how wide the hall is made;The chimneys are so well design'd,They never smoke in any wind:The galleries contrived for walking,The windows to retire and talk in;The council-chamber to debate,And all the rest are rooms of state.Thanks, sir, cried I, 'tis very fine,But where d'ye sleep, or where d'ye dine?I find, by all you have been telling,That 'tis a house, but not a dwelling.
Words in this poem
- locus n.
- A place; a locality. [L., place. Cf. Allow, Couch, Lieu, Local.]
- bene n.
- A prayer; boon. [AS. b.]
- mart v. t.
- To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Verses on Blenheim 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 on Blenheim, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/verses-on-blenheim.html, id L09375.
Form and metre
Verses on Blenheim is 19 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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.
- 2 AABBCCDD-EFFEEGG approachA · coachA · clockB · cockB · colonnadeC · madeC · design'dD · windD · walking · inE · debateF · stateF · fineE · dineE · tellingG · dwellingG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Atria longa patent. Sed nec cenantibus usquam | 14 | /˘··/˘········ |
| Nec somno locus est. Quam bene non habitas! | 14 | ···/˘˘/·/˘···· |
| MART., lib. xii, Ep. 50. | 4 | ···· |
| See, here's the grand approach, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| That way is for his grace's coach; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There lies the bridge, and there the clock, | 8 | ········ |
| Observe the lion and the cock; | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| The spacious court, the colonnade, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And mind how wide the hall is made; | 8 | ········ |
| The chimneys are so well design'd, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| They never smoke in any wind: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The galleries contrived for walking, | 9 | ·/˘˘˘/·/˘ |
| The windows to retire and talk in; | 9 | ·/˘·˘/··· |
| The council-chamber to debate, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And all the rest are rooms of state. | 8 | ········ |
| Thanks, sir, cried I, 'tis very fine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But where d'ye sleep, or where d'ye dine? | 8 | ········ |
| I find, by all you have been telling, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That 'tis a house, but not a dwelling. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
Notes from the edition 1
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Stanza 2, line 4 A monstrous lion tearing to pieces a little cock was placed over two of the portals of Blenheim House; "for the better understanding of which device," says Addison, "I must acquaint my English reader that a cock has the misfortune to be called in Latin by the same word that signifies a Frenchman, as a lion is the emblem of the English nation," and compares it to a pun in an heroic poem. The "Spectator," No. 59.--W. E. B.
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