On An Ill-Managed House
Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)
LET me thy properties explain:
A rotten cabin dropping rain:
Chimneys, with scorn rejecting smoke;
Stools, tables, chairs, and bedsteads broke.
Here elements have lost their uses,
Air ripens not, nor earth produces:
In vain we make poor Sheelah toil,
Fire will not roast, nor water boil.
Through all the valleys, hills, and plains,
The Goddess Want, in triumph reigns:
And her chief officers of state,
Sloth, Dirt, and Theft, around her wait.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 21, 2023
- 22 sec read
- 440 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 450 |
Words | 75 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 12 |
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"On An Ill-Managed House" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/24291/on-an-ill-managed-house>.
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