Analysis of An Excellent New Song Being The Intended Speech Of A Famous Orator Against Peace
Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)
An orator dismal of Nottinghamshire,
Who has forty years let out his conscience to hire,
Out of zeal for his country, and want of a place,
Is come up, vi et armis, to break the queen's peace.
He has vamp'd an old speech, and the court, to their sorrow,
Shall hear him harangue against Prior to-morrow.
When once he begins, he never will flinch,
But repeats the same note a whole day like a Finch.
I have heard all the speech repeated by Hoppy,'
And, 'mistakes to prevent, I've obtained a copy.'
Whereas, notwithstanding I am in great pain,
To hear we are making a peace without Spain;
But, most noble senators, 'tis a great shame,
There should be a peace, while I'm Not-in-game.
The duke show'd me all his fine house; and the duchess
From her closet brought out a full purse in her clutches:
I talk'd of a peace, and they both gave a start,
His grace swore by G—d, and her grace let a f—t:
My long old-fashion'd pocket was presently cramm'd;
And sooner than vote for a peace I'll be damn'd.
But some will cry turn-coat, and rip up old stories,
How I always pretended to be for the Tories:
I answer; the Tories were in my good graces,
Till all my relations were put into places.
But still I'm in principle ever the same,
And will quit my best friends, while I'm Not-in-game.
When I and some others subscribed our names
To a plot for expelling my master King James,
I withdrew my subscription by help of a blot,
And so might discover or gain by the plot:
I had my advantage, and stood at defiance,
For Daniel was got from the den of the lions:
I came in without danger, and was I to blame?
For, rather than hang, I would be Not-in-game.
I swore to the queen, that the Prince of Hanover
During her sacred life would never come over:
I made use of a trope; that 'an heir to invite,
Was like keeping her monument always in sight.'
But, when I thought proper, I alter'd my note;
And in her own hearing I boldly did vote,
That her Majesty stood in great need of a tutor,
And must have an old or a young coadjutor:
For why; I would fain have put all in a flame,
Because, for some reasons, I was Not-in-game.
Now my new benefactors have brought me about,
And I'll vote against peace, with Spain or without:
Though the court gives my nephews, and brothers, and cousins,
And all my whole family, places by dozens;
Yet, since I know where a full purse may be found,
And hardly pay eighteen-pence tax in the pound:
Since the Tories have thus disappointed my hopes,
And will neither regard my figures nor tropes,
I'll speech against peace while Dismal's my name,
And be a true Whig, while I'm Not-in-game.
Scheme | AABXAACCDD EEFFXGXDHHIIXGFFJJKKXLFFAAMMNNAAFFOOLLPPXBFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001011 1110111110110 111111001101 11111111011 1111110011110 111010110110 1110111011 101011011101 111101010110 001101101010 0101011011 11111001011 11101001011 1110111101 011111110010 1010110110010 11101011101 1111110011011 111101011001 01011101111 111111011110 111010111010 110010001110 111010010110 11101001001 01111111101 11011001101 101101011011 101101011101 01101011101 111010011010 110111011010 110011001111 11011111101 111011011100 100101110110 111101111101 11100100101 11111011011 00011011011 1010010111010 011111011 11111111001 01111011101 11110011101 01101111101 1011110010010 011110010110 11111011111 01010111001 10101101011 01100111011 110111111 0101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,560 |
Words | 494 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 44 |
Lines Amount | 54 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 990 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 244 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 2:32 min read
- 151 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"An Excellent New Song Being The Intended Speech Of A Famous Orator Against Peace" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24256/an-excellent-new-song-being-the-intended-speech-of-a-famous-orator-against-peace>.
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