The Ghost: Book II (excerpt)

Charles Churchill 1731 (Westminster) – 1764 (Boulogne-sur-Mer)



...
     Pomposo (insolent and loud),
  Vain idol of a scribbling crowd,
  Whose very name inspires an awe,
  Whose ev'ry word is sense and law,
  For what his greatness hath decreed,
  Like laws of Persia and of Mede,
  Sacred thro' all the realm of wit,
  Must never of repeal admit;
  Who, cursing flatt'ry, is the tool
  Of ev'ry fawning, flatt'ring fool;
  Who wit with jealous eye surveys,
  And sickens at another's praise;
  Who, proudly seiz'd of learning's throne,
  Now damns all learning but his own;
  Who scorns those common wares to trade in,
  Reas'ning, convincing, and persuading,
  But makes each sentence current pass
  With "Puppy," "Coxcomb," "Scoundrel," "Ass";
  For 'tis with him a certain rule,
  The folly's prov'd when he calls fool;
  Who, to increase his native strength,
  Draws words six syllables in length,
  With which, assisted with a frown
  By way of club, he knocks us down;
  Who 'bove the vulgar dares to rise,
  And sense of decency defies,
  (For this same decency is made
  Only for bunglers in the trade,
  And, like the cobweb laws, is still
  Broke thro' by great ones when they will)--
  Pomposo, with strong sense supplied,
  Supported, and confirm'd by pride,
  His comrades' terrors to beguile,
  "Grinn'd horribly a ghastly smile:"
  Features so horrid, were it light,
  Would put the Devil himself to flight.
...

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:09 min read
61

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABCDAEEFFGGHHIJKKFFLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSS
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,336
Words 224
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 38

Charles Churchill

Lieutenant General Charles Churchill was a British Army General and a Member of Parliament. more…

All Charles Churchill poems | Charles Churchill Books

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