Analysis of The Sick Lion and the Ass
Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)
A lion sunk by time's decay,
Too feeble grown to hunt his prey,
Observed his fatal hour draw nigh:
He drooped and laid him down to die.
There came by chance a savage boar,
Who trembled oft to hear him roar,
But when he saw him thus distressed
He tore and gored his royal breast.
A bull came next (ungen'rous foe),
Rejoiced to find him fall'n so low,
And with his horny-armed head
He aimed at once to strike him dead, -
He strikes, he wounds, he shocks in vain,
The lion still conceals his pain.
At length a base inglorious ass,
Who saw so many insults pass,
Came up and kicked him in the side:
'Twas this that raised the lion's pride.
He roused, and thus he spoke at length,
For indignation gave him strength:
Thou sorry, stupid, sluggish creature,
Disgrace and shame and scorn of nature!
You saw how well I could dispense
With blows from beasts of consequence!
They dignified the wounds they gave;
For none complain who feel the brave.
But you, the lowest of all brutes,
How ill your face with courage suits!
What dullness in thy looks appears!
I'd rather far (by heav'n 'tis true)
Expire by these than live by you:
A kick from thee is double death -
I curse thee with my dying breath!
Rebukes are easy from our betters,
From men of quality and letters;
But when low dunces will affront,
What man alive can stand the brunt?
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKXXLLHXXMMNN OOPP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011101 11011111 011101011 11011111 11110101 11011111 11111101 11011101 011111 011111111 0111011 11111111 11111101 01010111 110101001 11110011 11011001 11110101 11011111 1010111 110101010 010101110 11111101 11111100 1100111 11011101 11010111 11111101 11001101 11011111 01111111 01111101 11111101 0111011010 111100010 1111101 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,307 |
Words | 252 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 33, 4 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 512 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 124 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 51 Views
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