Analysis of Atlas; Or The Minister Of State
Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)
TO THE LORD TREASURER OXFORD
1710
Atlas, we read in ancient song,
Was so exceeding tall and strong,
He bore the skies upon his back,
Just as the pedler does his pack;
But, as the pedler overpress'd
Unloads upon a stall to rest,
Or, when he can no longer stand
Desires a friend to lend a hand;
So Atlas, lest the ponderous spheres
Should sink, and fall about his ears,
Got Hercules to bear the pile,
That he might sit and rest awhile.
Yet Hercules was not so strong,
Nor could have borne it half so long.
Great statesmen are in this condition;
And Atlas is a politician,
A premier minister of state;
Alcides one of second rate.
Suppose then Atlas ne'er so wise;
Yet, when the weight of kingdoms lies
Too long upon his single shoulders,
Sink down he must, or find upholders.
Scheme | AX BBCCAXDDEEFFBBGGHHIIXE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110010 1 10110101 11010101 11010111 1101111 11011 01010111 11111101 010011101 110101001 11010111 1101101 11110101 1101111 11111111 110101010 01010010 00110011 111101 01110111 11011101 110111010 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 757 |
Words | 146 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 22 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 301 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 72 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 134 Views
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