Written in the Year 1715, on an Attempt to Repeal the Test Act
A bitch, that was full pregnant grownBy all the dogs and curs in town,Finding her ripen'd time was come,Her litter teeming from her womb,Went here, and there, and everywhere,To find an easy place to lay her.At length to Music's house she came,And begg'd like one both blind and lame;"My only friend, my dear," said she,"You see 'tis mere necessityHath sent me to your house to whelp:I die if you refuse your help."With fawning whine, and rueful tone,With artful sigh, and feigned groan,With couchant cringe, and flattering tale,Smooth Bawty did so far prevail,That Music gave her leave to litter;(But mark what follow'd--faith! she bit her;)Whole baskets full of bits and scraps,And broth enough to fill her paps;For well she knew, her numerous brood,For want of milk, would suck her blood.But when she thought her pains were done,And now 'twas high time to be gone,In civil terms, "My friend," said she,"My house you've had on courtesy;And now I earnestly desire,That you would with your cubs retire;For, should you stay but one week longer,I shall be starved with cold and hunger."The guest replied--"My friend, your leaveI must a little longer crave;Stay till my tender cubs can findTheir way--for now, you see, they're blind;But, when we've gather'd strength, I swear,We'll to our barn again repair."The time pass'd on; and Music cameHer kennel once again to claim,But Bawty, lost to shame and honour,Set all her cubs at once upon her;Made her retire, and quit her right,And loudly cried--"A bite! bite!"
Words in this poem
- bitch n.
- The female of the canine kind, as of the dog, wolf, and fox. [OE. biche, bicche, AS. bicce; cf. Icel. bikkja, G. betze, peize.]
- teeming a.
- Prolific; productive.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- whelp n.
- One of the young of a dog or a beast of prey; a puppy; a cub; as, a lion's whelps. [AS. hwelp; akin to D. welp, G. & OHG. welf, Icel. hvelpr, Dan. hvalp, Sw. valp.]
- rueful a.
- Causing one to rue or lament; woeful; mournful; sorrowful.
- artful a.
- Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill. [From Art.]
- couchant a.
- Lying down with head erect; squatting. [F., p. pr. of coucher. See Couch, v. t.]
- 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,]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- kennel n.
- The water course of a street; a little canal or channel; a gutter; also, a puddle. Bp. Hall. [See Channel, Canal.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written in the Year 1715, on an Attempt to Repeal the Test Act 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, Written in the Year 1715, on an Attempt to Repeal the Test Act, in Poems, Volume II (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/written-in-the-year-1715-on-an-attempt-to-repeal-the-test-ac.html, id L09312.
Form and metre
Written in the Year 1715, on an Attempt to Repeal the Test Act is 42 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 7 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 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 ------AA--BBCCDD--EE------------FFGGHH--II grown · town · come · womb · everywhere · her · cameA · lameA · she · necessity · whelpB · helpB · toneC · groanC · taleD · prevailD · litter · her · scrapsE · papsE · brood · blood · done · gone · she · courtesy · desire · retire · longer · hunger · leave · crave · findF · blindF · swearG · repairG · cameH · claimH · honour · her · rightI · biteI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A bitch, that was full pregnant grown | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By all the dogs and curs in town, | 8 | ········ |
| Finding her ripen'd time was come, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Her litter teeming from her womb, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Went here, and there, and everywhere, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To find an easy place to lay her. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| At length to Music's house she came, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And begg'd like one both blind and lame; | 8 | ········ |
| "My only friend, my dear," said she, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "You see 'tis mere necessity | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Hath sent me to your house to whelp: | 8 | ········ |
| I die if you refuse your help." | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| With fawning whine, and rueful tone, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With artful sigh, and feigned groan, | 8 | ·/˘···˘· |
| With couchant cringe, and flattering tale, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Smooth Bawty did so far prevail, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That Music gave her leave to litter; | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| (But mark what follow'd--faith! she bit her;) | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Whole baskets full of bits and scraps, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And broth enough to fill her paps; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| For well she knew, her numerous brood, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For want of milk, would suck her blood. | 8 | ········ |
| But when she thought her pains were done, | 8 | ········ |
| And now 'twas high time to be gone, | 8 | ········ |
| In civil terms, "My friend," said she, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "My house you've had on courtesy; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And now I earnestly desire, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| That you would with your cubs retire; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For, should you stay but one week longer, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I shall be starved with cold and hunger." | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The guest replied--"My friend, your leave | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| I must a little longer crave; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Stay till my tender cubs can find | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their way--for now, you see, they're blind; | 8 | ········ |
| But, when we've gather'd strength, I swear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We'll to our barn again repair." | 8 | ··/·˘/˘/ |
| The time pass'd on; and Music came | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her kennel once again to claim, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| But Bawty, lost to shame and honour, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Set all her cubs at once upon her; | 9 | ········· |
| Made her retire, and quit her right, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And loudly cried--"A bite! bite!" | 7 | ·/˘···· |
Notes from the edition 2
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Line 7 The Church of England.
- Line 16 A Scotch name for bitch, alluding to the kirk.
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