Analysis of On Gold
Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)
All-ruling tyrant of the earth,
To vilest slaves I owe my birth,
How is the greatest monarch blest,
When in my gaudy livery drest!
No haughty nymph has power to run
From me; or my embraces shun.
Stabb'd to the heart, condemn'd to flame,
My constancy is still the same.
The favourite messenger of Jove,
And Lemnian god, consulting strove
To make me glorious to the sight
Of mortals, and the gods' delight.
Soon would their altar's flame expire
If I refused to lend them fire.
By fate exalted high in place,
Lo, here I stand with double face:
Superior none on earth I find;
But see below me all mankind
Yet, as it oft attends the great,
I almost sink with my own weight.
At every motion undertook,
The vulgar all consult my look.
I sometimes give advice in writing,
But never of my own inditing.
I am a courtier in my way;
For those who raised me, I betray;
And some give out that I entice
To lust, to luxury, and dice.
Who punishments on me inflict,
Because they find their pockets pickt.
By riding post, I lose my health,
And only to get others wealth.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFXX GGHHII JJXJKKLLXBMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 1111111 1101011 101101001 110111011 11110101 11010111 11001101 0110011 0110101 111100101 11000101 1111101 110111110 11010101 11111101 010011111 11011111 11110101 1111111 11001001 01010111 101101010 1101111 110100011 11111101 01111101 11110001 11001101 01111101 11011111 01011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,029 |
Words | 200 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 6, 12 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 271 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
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