Analysis of The Windsor Prophecy

Jonathan Swift 1667 (Dublin) – 1745 (Ireland)



When a holy black Swede, the son of Bob,
With a saint at his chin and a seal at his fob,
Shall not see one New-Years-day in that year,
Then let old England make good cheer:
Windsor and Bristol then shall be
Joined together in the Low-countree.
Then shall the tall black Daventry Bird
Speak against peace right many a word;
And some shall admire his coneying wit,
For many good groats his tongue shall slit.
But spight of the Harpy that crawls on all four,
There shall be peace, pardie, and war no more
But England must cry alack and well-a-day,
If the stick be taken from the dead sea.
And, dear Englond, if ought I understond,
Beware of Carrots from Northumberlond.
Carrots sown Thynne a deep root may get,
If so be they are in Somer set:
Their Conyngs mark thou; for I have been told,
They assassine when younge, and poison when old.
Root out these Carrots, O thou, whose name
is backwards and forwards always the same;
And keep thee close to thee always that name
Which backwards and forwards is almost the same.
And, England, wouldst thou be happy still,
Burn those Carrots under a Hill.


Scheme ABCCDCEEFFGGHDEEIIJJKKKKLL
Poetic Form
Metre 1010110111 101111001111 1111111011 11110111 10010111 10100011 1101111 101111001 01101111 110111111 1110111111 111110111 1101110101 1011101011 0111111 0111011 101101111 111110101 111111111 111101011 111101111 110010101 011111111 1100101101 010111101 11101001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,074
Words 203
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 26
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 854
Words per stanza (avg) 201
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:00 min read
141

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. more…

All Jonathan Swift poems | Jonathan Swift Books

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