Analysis of Blue and Buff
George Canning 1770 (Marylebone, Middlesex) – 1827 (Chiswick, Middlesex)
Come, sportive Muse, with plume satiric,
Describe each lawless, bold empiric,
Who, with the Blue and Buffs' sad crew,
Now stripp'd in buff, shall look so blue.
First paint L---d H---w---k, boisterous, rough,
Dealer in wholesale quack'ry stuff,
Who, far beyond famed Katterfelt,
Prescribed what ne'er was seen or felt;
Left Law and Reason in the lurch,
To mould the Senate, twist the Church:
But wand'ring once from Downing street,
Great Buckingham's old dome to greet,
With grand Catholiconian pill,
Was lost--on Constitution-hill.
Next W---dh---m, metaphysic elf,
Who all things knows--except himself;
Three tedious hours who raves and talks
Of all that in his cranium stalks;
Whose regular ideas fear
Militia much, more Volunteer,
A wild inapplicable genius,
Scarce versed in policy's quæ genus;
In syntax yet more scantly read,
Without one concord in his head.
Now, Muse, direct the shaft of wit,
Where little P---tty apes great Pitt;
This year in woe-begone oration,
To Britons paints a bankrupt nation:
Resources all dilapidate,
Taxation at extremest fate;
Whilst next this little, great, small man,
Heigh! presto! pass! by one bold plan,
Restores you all to peace and plenty;
The deuce is in't! won't this content ye?
With necromantic rod of Moses
(A twig cut from a bush of roses),
To ease at once your ev'ry fear,
Turns bear to bull, and bull to bear.
Nor miss, dear Muse, to gild my tale,
The gallant E---rl of L---d---e,
Who late to Paris post was sent, to
Become the dupe of Benevento;
Hush'd to soft sleep like "Baby Bunting,"
Whilst Fap the Great went out "a-hunting."
Or was it, say, thou bonny chiel,
Thy ardent love for Britain's weal,
That led thy steps, a peep to take
At thy great territorial stake;
The purchase of thine assignats,
Thy Corso-Gallican contrats:
At once th' opprobrium and solution,
Of all thy love for revolution.
The Muse recoils, as something shock'd her,
To charge with harm the harmless D---ct---r;
When, una voce, all allow,
He would do right--if he knew how.
But if, amongst this motely crew
One man of real parts we view:
With mind for highest station fit;
The colleague, friend, yet foe of Pitt;
He, to whose merits all men granted,
That Pitt's last list, one great name wanted;
He, who with every talent shone,
Except consistency alone;
"We smile, if such a man there be,
"But weep, if Grenville should be he."
Scheme | AABB CCDDEEDDFF GGHHIIJJDD DDKKDDLLDMJXIX XMBDNNFFOOHHKK XXPP BBDDDDQQMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111010 0111011 11010111 11011111 1111110011001 100111 110111 01111111 11010001 11010101 11111101 111111 1111 1110101 11001111 11110101 1100101101 111011001 11000101 0101101 010100010 110100110 011111 0111011 11010111 11011111 11011010 110101010 1001010 010111 11110111 1111111 011111010 0110111101 111110 011101110 1111111 11110111 11111111 010111111 111101111 010111000 111111010 110111010 11111101 11011101 11110111 11101001 010111 11011 111101000010 11111010 010111010 1111010111 1101101 11111111 1101111 1111111 11110101 01011111 111101110 111111110 111100101 01010001 11110111 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,299 |
Words | 406 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 10, 10, 14, 14, 4, 10 |
Lines Amount | 66 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 256 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 2:04 min read
- 104 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Blue and Buff" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14816/blue-and-buff>.
Discuss this George Canning poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In