Ad Ministram
Dear LUCY, you know what my wish is,--I hate all your Frenchified fuss:Your silly entrées and made dishesWere never intended for us.No footman in lace and in rufflesNeed dangle behind my arm-chair;And never mind seeking for truffles,Although they be ever so rare.
But a plain leg of mutton, my Lucy,I prithee get ready at three:Have it smoking, and tender and juicy,And what better meat can there be?And when it has feasted the master,'Twill amply suffice for the maid;Meanwhile I will smoke my canaster,And tipple my ale in the shade.
Words in this poem
- fuss n.
- A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
- dangle v. i.
- To hang loosely, or with a swinging or jerking motion. [Akin to Dan. dangle, dial. Sw. dangla, Dan. dingle, Sw. dingla, Icel. dingla; perh. from E. ding.]
- mutton n.
- A sheep. Chapman. [OE. motoun, OF. moton, molton, a sheep, wether, F. mouton, LL. multo, by transposition of l fr. L. mutilus mutilated. See Mutilate.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- amply adv.
- In an ample manner.
- suffice v. i.
- To be enough, or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be equal to the end proposed; to be adequate. [OE. suffisen, OF. soufire, F. suffire (cf. suffisant, p.pr.), L. sufficere to put under, to substitute, to avail for, to suffice; sub under + facere to make. Se]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- canaster n.
- A kind of tobacco for smoking, made of the dried leaves, coarsely broken; -- so called from the rush baskets in which it is packed in South America. McElrath. [Sp. canasta, canastro, basket, fr. L. canistrum. See Canister.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ad Ministram is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #2732; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Makepeace Thackeray, Ad Ministram, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/ad-ministram.html, id L10376.
Form and metre
Ad Ministram is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 79% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 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 anapaestic trimeter.
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 ABABCDCD isA · fussB · dishesA · usB · rufflesC · chairD · trufflesC · rareD
- 2 ABABCDCD lucyA · threeB · juicyA · beB · masterC · maidD · canasterC · shadeD
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dear LUCY, you know what my wish is,-- | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I hate all your Frenchified fuss: | 7 | ······· |
| Your silly entrées and made dishes | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Were never intended for us. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| No footman in lace and in ruffles | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Need dangle behind my arm-chair; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And never mind seeking for truffles, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Although they be ever so rare. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| But a plain leg of mutton, my Lucy, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| I prithee get ready at three: | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Have it smoking, and tender and juicy, | 10 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| And what better meat can there be? | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| And when it has feasted the master, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| 'Twill amply suffice for the maid; | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| Meanwhile I will smoke my canaster, | 9 | /·····˘/˘ |
| And tipple my ale in the shade. | 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.