With a Picture of Dr. Swift. by William Dunkin, D.D.
To gratify thy long desire,(So love and piety require,)From Bindon's colours you may traceThe patriot's venerable face.The last, O Nugent! which his artShall ever to the world impart;For know, the prime of mortal men,That matchless monarch of the pen,(Whose labours, like the genial sun,Shall through revolving ages run,Yet never, like the sun, decline,But in their full meridian shine,)That ever honour'd, envied sage,So long the wonder of the age,Who charm'd us with his golden strain,Is not the shadow of the Dean:He only breathes Boeotian air--"O! what a falling off was there!"Hibernia's Helicon is dry,Invention, Wit, and Humour die;And what remains against the stormOf Malice but an empty form?The nodding ruins of a pile,That stood the bulwark of this isle?In which the sisterhood was fix'dOf candid Honour, Truth unmix'd,Imperial Reason, Thought profound,And Charity, diffusing roundIn cheerful rivulets to flowOf Fortune to the sons of woe?Such one, my Nugent, was thy Swift,Endued with each exalted gift,But lo! the pure ethereal flameIs darken'd by a misty steam:The balm exhausted breathes no smell,The rose is wither'd ere it fell.That godlike supplement of law,Which held the wicked world in aweAnd could the tide of faction stem,Is but a shell without the gem.Ye sons of genius, who would aimTo build an everlasting fame,And in the field of letter'd arts,Display the trophies of your parts,To yonder mansion turn aside,And mortify your growing pride.Behold the brightest of the race,And Nature's honour, in disgrace:With humble resignation own,That all your talents are a loan;By Providence advanced for use,Which you should study to produceReflect, the mental stock, alas!However current now it pass,May haply be recall'd from youBefore the grave demands his due,Then, while your morning star proceeds,Direct your course to worthy deeds,In fuller day discharge your debts;For, when your sun of reason sets,The night succeeds; and all your schemesOf glory vanish with your dreams.Ah! where is now the supple train,That danced attendance on the Dean?Say, where are those facetious folks,Who shook with laughter at his jokes,And with attentive rapture hung,On wisdom, dropping from his tongue;Who look'd with high disdainful prideOn all the busy world beside,And rated his productions moreThan treasures of Peruvian ore?Good Christians! they with bended kneesIngulf'd the wine, but loathe the lees,Averting, (so the text commands,)With ardent eyes and upcast hands,The cup of sorrow from their lips,And fly, like rats, from sinking ships.While some, who by his friendship roseTo wealth, in concert with his foesRun counter to their former track,Like old Actæon's horrid packOf yelling mongrels, in requitalsTo riot on their master's vitals;And, where they cannot blast his laurels,Attempt to stigmatize his morals;Through Scandal's magnifying glassHis foibles view, but virtues pass,And on the ruins of his fameErect an ignominious name.So vermin foul, of vile extraction,The spawn of dirt and putrefaction,The sounder members traverse o'er,But fix and fatten on a sore.Hence! peace, ye wretches, who revileHis wit, his humour, and his style;Since all the monsters which he drewWere only meant to copy you;And, if the colours be not fainter,Arraign yourselves, and not the painter.But, O! that He, who gave him breath,Dread arbiter of life and death:That He, the moving soul of all,The sleeping spirit would recall,And crown him with triumphant meeds,For all his past heroic deeds,In mansions of unbroken rest,The bright republic of the bless'd!Irradiate his benighted mindWith living light of light refined;And there the blank of thought employWith objects of immortal joy!Yet, while he drags the sad remainsOf life, slow-creeping through his veins,Above the views of private ends,The tributary Muse attends,To prop his feeble steps, or shedThe pious tear around his bed.So pilgrims, with devout complaints,Frequent the graves of martyr'd saints,Inscribe their worth in artless lines,And, in their stead, embrace their shrines.
Words in this poem 29
- 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,]
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- boeotian a.
- Of or pertaining to Boeotia; hence, stupid; dull; obtuse. [L. Boeotia, Gr. , noted for its moist, thick atmosphere, and the dullness and stupidity of its inhabitants.]
- helicon n.
- A mountain in Boeotia, in Greece, supposed by the Greeks to be the residence of Apollo and the Muses.
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
- bulwark n.
- A rampart; a fortification; a bastion or outwork. [Akin to D. bolwerk, G. bollwerk, Sw. bolwerk, Dan. bolvärk, bulvärk, rampart; akin to G. bohle plank, and werk work, defense. See Bole stem, and Work, n., and c]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- sisterhood n.
- The state or relation of being a sister; the office or duty of a sister. [Sister + hood.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
- resignation n.
- The act of resigning or giving up, as a claim, possession, office, or the like; surrender; as, the resignation of a crown or comission. [F. résignation. See Resign.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- attendance n.
- Attention; regard; careful application. [OE. attendance, OF. atendance, fr. atendre, F. attendre. See Attend, v. t.]
- facetious a.
- Given to wit and good humor; merry; sportive; jocular; as, a facetious companion. [Cf. F. facétieux. See Facetiæ.]
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- upcast v. t.
- To cast or throw up; to turn upward.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- vitals n.
- Organs that are necessary for life; more especially, the heart, lungs, and brain.
- stigmatize v. t.
- To mark with a stigma, or brand; as, the ancients stigmatized their slaves and soldiers.
- ignominious a.
- Marked with ignominy; in curring public disgrace; dishonorable; shameful. [L. ignominiosus: cf. F. ignominieux.]
- vermin n.
- An animal, in general. [OE. vermine, F. vermine, from L. vermis a worm; cf. LL. vermen a worm, L. verminosus full of worms. See Vermicular, Worm.]
- sounder n.
- One who, or that which; sounds; specifically, an instrument used in telegraphy in place of a register, the communications being read by sound.
- arraign v. t.
- To call or set as a prisoner at the bar of a court to answer to the matter charged in an indictment or complaint. Blackstone. [OE. arainen, arenen, OF. aragnier, aranier, araisnier, F. arraisonner, fr. LL. arrationare to address to call before court; L. ad + ratio reason, reasoning, LL.]
- republic n.
- Common weal. B. Jonson. [F. république, L. respublica commonwealth; res a thing, an affair + publicus, publica, public. See Real, a., and Public.]
- irradiate v. t.
- To throw rays of light upon; to illuminate; to brighten; to adorn with luster. [L. irradiatus, p. p. of irradiate. See In- in, and Radiate.]
- inscribe v. t.
- To write or engrave; to mark down as something to be read; to imprint. [L. inscribere. See 1st In-, and Scribe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
With a Picture of Dr. Swift. by William Dunkin, D.D. 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, With a Picture of Dr. Swift. by William Dunkin, D.D., in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/with-a-picture-of-dr-swift-by-william-dunkin-d-d.html, id L09440.
Form and metre
With a Picture of Dr. Swift. by William Dunkin, D.D. is 122 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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.
- 1 AABBCCDDEEFFGG--HHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO--PP--QQRRSSTTUUVVWWXXYYZZaabb--ccddeeffgghhiijjkkllllmmnnoo--ppqqrrssttuuvvwwxxyyzzAABBCC desireA · requireA · traceB · faceB · artC · impartC · menD · penD · sunE · runE · declineF · shineF · sageG · ageG · strain · dean · airH · thereH · dryI · dieI · stormJ · formJ · pileK · isleK · fix'dL · unmix'dL · profoundM · roundM · flowN · woeN · swiftO · giftO · flame · steam · smellP · fellP · law · awe · stemQ · gemQ · aimR · fameR · artsS · partsS · asideT · prideT · raceU · disgraceU · ownV · loanV · useW · produceW · alasX · passX · youY · dueY · proceedsZ · deedsZ · debtsa · setsa · schemesb · dreamsb · train · dean · folksc · jokesc · hungd · tongued · pridee · besidee · moref · oref · kneesg · leesg · commandsh · handsh · lipsi · shipsi · rosej · foesj · trackk · packk · requitalsl · vitalsl · laurelsl · moralsl · glassm · passm · famen · namen · extractiono · putrefactiono · o'er · sore · revilep · stylep · drewq · youq · fainterr · painterr · breaths · deaths · allt · recallt · meedsu · deedsu · restv · bless'dv · mindw · refinedw · employx · joyx · remainsy · veinsy · endsz · attendsz · shedA · bedA · complaintsB · saintsB · linesC · shrinesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To gratify thy long desire, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| (So love and piety require,) | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| From Bindon's colours you may trace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The patriot's venerable face. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘· |
| The last, O Nugent! which his art | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shall ever to the world impart; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| For know, the prime of mortal men, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That matchless monarch of the pen, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| (Whose labours, like the genial sun, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Shall through revolving ages run, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Yet never, like the sun, decline, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But in their full meridian shine,) | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| That ever honour'd, envied sage, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So long the wonder of the age, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who charm'd us with his golden strain, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is not the shadow of the Dean: | 8 | ···/···· |
| He only breathes Boeotian air-- | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| "O! what a falling off was there!" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hibernia's Helicon is dry, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Invention, Wit, and Humour die; | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| And what remains against the storm | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Of Malice but an empty form? | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The nodding ruins of a pile, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| That stood the bulwark of this isle? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In which the sisterhood was fix'd | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Of candid Honour, Truth unmix'd, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Imperial Reason, Thought profound, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And Charity, diffusing round | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| In cheerful rivulets to flow | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of Fortune to the sons of woe? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Such one, my Nugent, was thy Swift, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Endued with each exalted gift, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| But lo! the pure ethereal flame | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Is darken'd by a misty steam: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The balm exhausted breathes no smell, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The rose is wither'd ere it fell. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That godlike supplement of law, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/·· |
| Which held the wicked world in awe | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And could the tide of faction stem, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is but a shell without the gem. | 8 | ········ |
| Ye sons of genius, who would aim | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To build an everlasting fame, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And in the field of letter'd arts, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Display the trophies of your parts, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| To yonder mansion turn aside, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And mortify your growing pride. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Behold the brightest of the race, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And Nature's honour, in disgrace: | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| With humble resignation own, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| That all your talents are a loan; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By Providence advanced for use, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Which you should study to produce | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Reflect, the mental stock, alas! | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| However current now it pass, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| May haply be recall'd from you | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Before the grave demands his due, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Then, while your morning star proceeds, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Direct your course to worthy deeds, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| In fuller day discharge your debts; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| For, when your sun of reason sets, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The night succeeds; and all your schemes | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Of glory vanish with your dreams. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Ah! where is now the supple train, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That danced attendance on the Dean? | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Say, where are those facetious folks, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Who shook with laughter at his jokes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And with attentive rapture hung, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| On wisdom, dropping from his tongue; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Who look'd with high disdainful pride | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| On all the busy world beside, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And rated his productions more | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Than treasures of Peruvian ore? | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Good Christians! they with bended knees | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ingulf'd the wine, but loathe the lees, | 8 | ········ |
| Averting, (so the text commands,) | 8 | ˘/˘···˘/ |
| With ardent eyes and upcast hands, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The cup of sorrow from their lips, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And fly, like rats, from sinking ships. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While some, who by his friendship rose | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To wealth, in concert with his foes | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Run counter to their former track, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Like old Actæon's horrid pack | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Of yelling mongrels, in requitals | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| To riot on their master's vitals; | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And, where they cannot blast his laurels, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Attempt to stigmatize his morals; | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Through Scandal's magnifying glass | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘· |
| His foibles view, but virtues pass, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And on the ruins of his fame | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Erect an ignominious name. | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| So vermin foul, of vile extraction, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| The spawn of dirt and putrefaction, | 9 | ········· |
| The sounder members traverse o'er, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| But fix and fatten on a sore. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hence! peace, ye wretches, who revile | 8 | ······˘/ |
| His wit, his humour, and his style; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Since all the monsters which he drew | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Were only meant to copy you; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And, if the colours be not fainter, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Arraign yourselves, and not the painter. | 9 | ˘/˘/···/˘ |
| But, O! that He, who gave him breath, | 8 | ········ |
| Dread arbiter of life and death: | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| That He, the moving soul of all, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The sleeping spirit would recall, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And crown him with triumphant meeds, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| For all his past heroic deeds, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| In mansions of unbroken rest, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The bright republic of the bless'd! | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Irradiate his benighted mind | 9 | ˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| With living light of light refined; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And there the blank of thought employ | 8 | ······˘/ |
| With objects of immortal joy! | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Yet, while he drags the sad remains | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of life, slow-creeping through his veins, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Above the views of private ends, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The tributary Muse attends, | 8 | ·/˘·˘·˘/ |
| To prop his feeble steps, or shed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The pious tear around his bed. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So pilgrims, with devout complaints, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Frequent the graves of martyr'd saints, | 8 | /····/˘· |
| Inscribe their worth in artless lines, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And, in their stead, embrace their shrines. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
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.