Analysis of The Windsor Prophecy
Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)
When a holy black Swede, the son of Bob,
With a saint at his chin and a seal at his fob,
Shall not see one New-Years-day in that year,
Then let old England make good cheer:
Windsor and Bristol then shall be
Joined together in the Low-countree.
Then shall the tall black Daventry Bird
Speak against peace right many a word;
And some shall admire his coneying wit,
For many good groats his tongue shall slit.
But spight of the Harpy that crawls on all four,
There shall be peace, pardie, and war no more
But England must cry alack and well-a-day,
If the stick be taken from the dead sea.
And, dear Englond, if ought I understond,
Beware of Carrots from Northumberlond.
Carrots sown Thynne a deep root may get,
If so be they are in Somer set:
Their Conyngs mark thou; for I have been told,
They assassine when younge, and poison when old.
Root out these Carrots, O thou, whose name
is backwards and forwards always the same;
And keep thee close to thee always that name
Which backwards and forwards is almost the same.
And, England, wouldst thou be happy still,
Burn those Carrots under a Hill.
Scheme | ABCCDCEEFFGGHDEEIIJJKKKKLL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010110111 101111001111 1111111011 11110111 10010111 10100011 1101111 101111001 01101111 110111111 1110111111 111110111 1101110101 1011101011 0111111 0111011 101101111 111110101 111111111 111101011 111101111 110010101 011111111 1100101101 010111101 11101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,074 |
Words | 203 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 26 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 854 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 201 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 141 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Windsor Prophecy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24338/the-windsor-prophecy>.
Discuss this Jonathan Swift 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