Jolly Jack
When fierce political debateThroughout the isle was storming,And Rads attacked the throne and state,And Tories the reforming,To calm the furious rage of each,And right the land demented,Heaven sent us Jolly Jack, to teachThe way to be contented.
Jack's bed was straw, 'twas warm and soft,His chair, a three-legged stool;His broken jug was emptied oft,Yet, somehow, always full.His mistress' portrait decked the wall,His mirror had a crack;Yet, gay and glad, though this was allHis wealth, lived Jolly Jack.
To give advice to avarice,Teach pride its mean condition,And preach good sense to dull pretence,Was honest Jack's high mission.Our simple statesman found his ruleOf moral in the flagon,And held his philosophic schoolBeneath the "George and Dragon."
When village Solons cursed the Lords,And called the malt-tax sinful,Jack heeded not their angry words,But smiled and drank his skinful.And when men wasted health and life,In search of rank and riches,Jack marked aloof the paltry strife,And wore his threadbare breeches.
"I enter not the church," he said,"But I'll not seek to rob it;"So worthy Jack Joe Miller read,While others studied Cobbett.His talk it was of feast and fun;His guide the Almanack;From youth to age thus gayly runThe life of Jolly Jack.
And when Jack prayed, as oft he would,He humbly thanked his Maker;"I am," said he, "O Father good!Nor Catholic nor Quaker:Give each his creed, let each proclaimHis catalogue of curses;I trust in Thee, and not in them,In Thee, and in Thy mercies!
"Forgive me if, midst all Thy works,No hint I see of damning;And think there's faith among the Turks,And hope for e'en the Brahmin.Harmless my mind is, and my mirth,And kindly is my laughter:I cannot see the smiling earth,And think there's hell hereafter."
Jack died; he left no legacy,Save that his story teaches:--Content to peevish poverty;Humility to riches.Ye scornful great, ye envious small,Come follow in his track;We all were happier, if we allWould copy JOLLY JACK.
Words in this poem 22
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- storming a.
- from Storm, v. Storming party (Mil.), a party assigned to the duty of making the first assault in storming a fortress.
- demented a.
- Insane; mad; of unsound mind. [From Dement.]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- flagon n.
- A vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquors. It is generally larger than a bottle, and of leather or stoneware rather than of glass. [F. flacon, for flascon, fr. OF. flasche, from LL. flasco. See Flask.]
- philosophic a.
- Of or pertaining to philosophy; versed in, or imbued with, the principles of philosophy; hence, characterizing a philosopher; rational; wise; temperate; calm; cool. [L. philosophicus: cf. F. philosophique.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- skinful n.
- As much as a skin can hold.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- threadbare a.
- Worn to the naked thread; having the nap worn off; threadbare clothes.
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- quaker n.
- One who quakes.
- damning a.
- That damns; damnable; as, damning evidence of guilt.
- brahmin n.
- A person of the highest or sacerdotal caste among the Hindoos.
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Jolly Jack 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, Jolly Jack, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/jolly-jack.html, id L10374.
Form and metre
Jolly Jack is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, in 2 of the 8 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 26 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 ABABCDCD debateA · stormingB · stateA · reformingB · eachC · dementedD · teachC · contentedD
- 2 A-A-BCBC softA · stool · oftA · full · wallB · crackC · allB · jackC
- 3 -A-ABCBC avarice · conditionA · pretence · missionA · ruleB · flagonC · schoolB · dragonC
- 4 ----A-A- lords · sinful · words · skinful · lifeA · riches · strifeA · breeches
- 5 ABABCDCD saidA · itB · readA · cobbettB · funC · almanackD · runC · jackD
- 6 ABAB---- wouldA · makerB · goodA · quakerB · proclaim · curses · them · mercies
- 7 A-A-BCBC worksA · damning · turksA · brahmin · mirthB · laughterC · earthB · hereafterC
- 8 ----ABAB legacy · teaches · poverty · riches · smallA · trackB · allA · jackB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When fierce political debate | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Throughout the isle was storming, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And Rads attacked the throne and state, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And Tories the reforming, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| To calm the furious rage of each, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And right the land demented, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Heaven sent us Jolly Jack, to teach | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| The way to be contented. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Jack's bed was straw, 'twas warm and soft, | 8 | ········ |
| His chair, a three-legged stool; | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| His broken jug was emptied oft, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Yet, somehow, always full. | 6 | ·/·/·· |
| His mistress' portrait decked the wall, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| His mirror had a crack; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Yet, gay and glad, though this was all | 8 | ········ |
| His wealth, lived Jolly Jack. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| To give advice to avarice, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘˘ |
| Teach pride its mean condition, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And preach good sense to dull pretence, | 8 | ········ |
| Was honest Jack's high mission. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Our simple statesman found his rule | 8 | //˘/˘··· |
| Of moral in the flagon, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And held his philosophic school | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Beneath the "George and Dragon." | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| When village Solons cursed the Lords, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And called the malt-tax sinful, | 8 | ··˘···/˘ |
| Jack heeded not their angry words, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But smiled and drank his skinful. | 8 | ··˘···/˘ |
| And when men wasted health and life, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In search of rank and riches, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Jack marked aloof the paltry strife, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And wore his threadbare breeches. | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| "I enter not the church," he said, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| "But I'll not seek to rob it;" | 7 | ······· |
| So worthy Jack Joe Miller read, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| While others studied Cobbett. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| His talk it was of feast and fun; | 8 | ········ |
| His guide the Almanack; | 6 | ······ |
| From youth to age thus gayly run | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The life of Jolly Jack. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And when Jack prayed, as oft he would, | 8 | ········ |
| He humbly thanked his Maker; | 8 | ·/˘·˘·/˘ |
| "I am," said he, "O Father good! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor Catholic nor Quaker: | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Give each his creed, let each proclaim | 8 | ······˘/ |
| His catalogue of curses; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I trust in Thee, and not in them, | 8 | ········ |
| In Thee, and in Thy mercies! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| "Forgive me if, midst all Thy works, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| No hint I see of damning; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And think there's faith among the Turks, | 8 | ········ |
| And hope for e'en the Brahmin. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Harmless my mind is, and my mirth, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And kindly is my laughter: | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I cannot see the smiling earth, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And think there's hell hereafter." | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Jack died; he left no legacy, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Save that his story teaches:-- | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Content to peevish poverty; | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘ |
| Humility to riches. | 7 | ˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Ye scornful great, ye envious small, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Come follow in his track; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| We all were happier, if we all | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Would copy JOLLY JACK. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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