Analysis of A Friendly Apology For A Certain Justice Of Peace By Way Of Defence Of Hartley Hutcheson, Esq. By James Black-Well, Operator For The Feet
But he by bawling news about,
And aptly using brush and clout,
A justice of the peace became,
To punish rogues who do the same.
I sing the man of courage tried,
O'errun with ignorance and pride,
Who boldly hunted out disgrace
With canker'd mind, and hideous face;
The first who made (let none deny it)
The libel-vending rogues be quiet.
The fact was glorious, we must own,
For Hartley was before unknown,
Contemn'd I mean; - for who would chuse
So vile a subject for the Muse?
'Twas once the noblest of his wishes
To fill his paunch with scraps from dishes,
For which he'd parch before the grate,
Or wind the jack's slow-rising weight,
(Such toils as best his talents fit,)
Or polish shoes, or turn the spit;
But, unexpectedly grown rich in
Squire Domvile's family and kitchen,
He pants to eternize his name,
And takes the dirty road to fame;
Believes that persecuting wit
Will prove the surest way to it;
So with a colonelat his back,
The Libel feels his first attack;
He calls it a seditious paper,
Writ by another patriot Drapier;
Then raves and blunders nonsense thicker
Than alderman o'ercharged with liquor:
And all this with design, no doubt,
To hear his praises hawk'd about;
To send his name through every street,
Which erst he roam'd with dirty feet;
Well pleased to live in future times,
Though but in keen satiric rhymes.
So, Ajax, who, for aught we know,
Was justice many years ago,
And minding then no earthly things,
But killing libellers of kings;
Or if he wanted work to do,
To run a bawling news-boy through;
Yet he, when wrapp'd up in a cloud,
Entreated father Jove aloud,
Only in light to show his face,
Though it might tend to his disgrace.
And so the Ephesian villain fired
The temple which the world admired,
Contemning death, despising shame,
To gain an ever-odious name.
Scheme | AABB CCDDEXFFGGXXHHEEXXBBEEIIJJJJAAKKLLMMNNOOPPDDQQBB |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111101 01010101 01010101 11011101 11011101 1110001 11010101 11101001 011111011 010101110 011100111 11010101 1111111 11001101 110101110 111111110 11110101 11011101 11111101 11011101 10100110 11100010 111111 01010111 0111001 11010111 110111 01011101 111001010 110101001 110101010 11001110 01110111 11110101 111111001 11111101 11110101 11010101 1111111 11010101 01011101 110111 11110111 1101111 11111001 110101 10011111 11111101 01011010 010101010 110101 111101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,747 |
Words | 323 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 48 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 700 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 161 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 17 Views
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"A Friendly Apology For A Certain Justice Of Peace By Way Of Defence Of Hartley Hutcheson, Esq. By James Black-Well, Operator For The Feet" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55991/a-friendly-apology-for-a-certain-justice-of-peace-by-way-of-defence-of-hartley-hutcheson%2C-esq.-by-james-black-well%2C-operator-for-the-feet>.
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