Analysis of Written For My Son, And Spoken By Him, At A public Examination For Victors.
To you, Athenians, we again submit;
Reward, or punish us, as you think fit.
Let Idleness, unpity'd, meet Disgrace;
For Idleness, this Year, is doubly base.
This is the Æra, this the destin'd Year,
For Arts and Sciences to flourish here.
The Muses, exil'd long, to Court repair;
And--strange to think! are all the Fashion there.
Who feels not now a gen'rous Emulation,
When Merit raises to the highest Station?
Scholars may surely hope a better Fate,
Whilst Carteret directs the Helm of State.
O would he govern here by Grecian Rules,
And chuse a Senate, to preside o'er Schools;
Honour, alone, to pay the glorious Task,
(A Recompence no Foreigner would ask!)
Then kind Britannia, doubtless, would consent,
Hibernia should supply a President.
Too oft, alas! are Talents misapply'd,
By Parents Fondness, Ignorance, and Pride.
This Grievance then would cease, and we should be
Regarded, as the Publick's Property:
Genius alone would be consulted then,
(The only Way to make us useful Men)
And each would have his sev'ral Task assign'd,
As Nature gave the Biass to his Mind.
Boys of a brutal, cruel Disposition,
Should go to Spain, to serve the Inquisition.
O what a Change in Landlords would appear!
Next Age, not one would rack his Tenants here.
The Lads, who study but to dress and dance,
Should cultivate their Worthlesness in France.
Those who love Liberty, to Albion roam;
But, could they bear Oppression,--stay at home.
Then glorious Ancestors would cease to be
Degraded by a worthless Progeny.
None should from noble Blood their Lineage trace,
Unless they added Lustre to their Race.
That the degen'rate Off--spring of the Great
Might be no more a Burden to the State;
The Sons of Peers, with mean, ignoble Hearts,
In Holland should be taught mechanic Arts;
And Boys of Genius to those Honours soar,
Which high--born Dunces but disgrac'd before:
See Nature, thus, the gen'rous Juice divide;
The Spirit rises, and the Dregs subside.
Thus modell'd, we may hope for happier Times;
Our Isle will be rever'd by distant Climes:
And, lest Posterity should think us rude,
And lost, at once, to Shame and Gratitude;
A Patriot Race shall sing the Drapier's Praise,
And civic Crowns fhall mingle with His Bays:
Nor shall His Works alone His Worth proclaim,
(Tho' none, like those, can eternize His Name)
His Statue shall be rais'd in ev'ry Street,
With proud Oppression, writhing at His Feet;
At his Right--hand fair Liberty shall smile,
Protected by the Guardian of our Isle;
On t'other Side, the Goddess Fame shall stand,
With His immortal Labours in her Hand:
Then shall each gen'rous Youth, who passes by,
And sees the Patriot's Image, plac'd on high,
With Emulation feel his Bosom fir'd,
And thus break forth, by Gratitude inspir'd.
``O Thou, whose Genius rose, to save the State,
``And snatch Thy Country from the Brink of Fate!
``When for Thy Life Hibernia sues in vain,
``And Heav'n no longer will Thy Crown detain;
``Her grateful Sons, already rob'd in White,
``Shall hail Thee, glorious, in the Realms of Light.
Scheme | AABBCDEE FFGGHHIIJJ AKLLMMNN FFCD OO PP LLBBGGQQRRKK SSTTUUVVWWXXYYZZ1 1 GG2 2 3 3 |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11010010101 0111011111 11001101 1100111101 110110101 1101001101 010111101 0111110101 111101010 11010101010 1011010101 1100010111 1111011101 01010101101 1011101001 01110011 11010010101 100101010 11011101 1101010001 1101110111 010101100 1001110101 0101111101 011111101 110101111 1101010010 1111110010 110101101 1111111101 0111011101 1101101 11110011001 1111010111 1100101111 0101010100 11110111001 0111010111 1010111101 1111010101 0111110101 0101110101 011101111 111110101 110101101 0101000101 1111111001 10111011101 0101001111 011111010 0100111011 0101110111 1111011101 11111111 11111011 1101010111 1111110011 010101001101 11101010111 110101001 111111101 01010010111 1010111010 0111110010 1111011101 0111010111 1111100101 0111011101 0101010101 11110000111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,954 |
Words | 516 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 10, 8, 4, 2, 2, 12, 18, 6 |
Lines Amount | 70 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 260 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 08, 2023
- 2:42 min read
- 101 Views
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"Written For My Son, And Spoken By Him, At A public Examination For Victors." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26708/written-for-my-son%2C-and-spoken-by-him%2C-at-a-public-examination-for-victors.>.
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