The Fan : A Poem. Book I. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH IIJJKKLLMNOOPPEEQQRR SS IIFFTTBBBBUUFFIIOO VVDDEWXBBBIIYYUUWXBB ZZEEFFEEBBBB MA2 DXBBB2C2D2D2E2E2 BBHHF2F2G2G2 E2E2BBUUAAH2H2E2E2E2 E2BBE2E2E2E2 BBE2E2E2E2BBE2E2E2E2 E2E2E2E2I2I2E2E2 I2I2BBH2H2E2E2AAIIBB BBJ2J2E2E2RRE2E2 E2E2K2L2| I sing that graceful toy whose waving play | A |
| With gentle gales relieves the sultry day | A |
| Not the wide fan by Persian dames display'd | B |
| Which o'er their beauty casts a grateful shade | B |
| Nor that long known in China's artful land | C |
| Which while it cools the face fatigues the hand | C |
| Nor shall the muse in Asian climates rove | D |
| To seek in Indostan some spicy grove | D |
| Where stretch'd at ease the panting lady lies | E |
| To shun the fervour of meridian skies | E |
| While sweating slaves catch every breeze of air | F |
| And with wide spreading fans refresh the fair | F |
| No busy gnats her pleasing dreams molest | G |
| Inflame her cheek or ravage o'er her breast | G |
| But artificial zephyrs round her fly | H |
| And mitigate the fever of the sky | H |
| - | |
| Nor shall Bermudas long the muse detain | I |
| Whose fragrant forests bloom in Waller's strain | I |
| Where breathing sweets from every field ascend | J |
| And the wild woods with golden apples bend | J |
| Yet let me in some odorous shade repose | K |
| Whilst in my verse the fair Palmetto grows | K |
| Like the tall pine it shoots its stately head | L |
| From the broad top depending branches spread | L |
| No knotty limbs the taper body bears | M |
| Hung on each bough a single leaf appears | N |
| Which shrivell'd in its infancy remains | O |
| Like a clos'd fan nor stretches wide its veins | O |
| But as the seasons in their circle run | P |
| Opes its ribb'd surface to the nearer sun | P |
| Beneath this shade the weary peasant lies | E |
| Plucks the broad leaf and bids the breezes rise | E |
| Stay wandering muse nor rove in foreign climes | Q |
| To thy own native shore confine thy rhymes | Q |
| Assist ye Nine your loftiest notes employ | R |
| Say what celestial skill contriv'd the toy | R |
| Say how this instrument of love began | S |
| And in immortal strains display the fan | S |
| - | |
| Strephon had long confest his amorous pain | I |
| Which gay Corinna rally'd with disdain | I |
| Sometimes in broken words he sigh'd his care | F |
| Look'd pale and trembled when he view'd the fair | F |
| With bolder freedoms now the youth advanc'd | T |
| He dress'd he laugh'd he sung he rhym'd he danc'd | T |
| Now call'd more powerful presents to his aid | B |
| And to seduce the mistress brib'd the maid | B |
| Smooth flattery in her softer hours apply'd | B |
| The surest charm to bind the force of pride | B |
| But still unmov'd remains the scornful dame | U |
| Insults her captive and derides his flame | U |
| When Strephon saw his vows dispers'd in air | F |
| He sought in solitude to lose his care | F |
| Relief in solitude he sought in vain | I |
| It serv'd like music but to feed his pain | I |
| To Venus now the slighted boy complains | O |
| And calls the goddess in these tender strains | O |
| - | |
| O potent queen from Neptune's empire sprung | V |
| Whose glorious birth admiring Nereids sung | V |
| Who 'midst the fragrant plains of Cyprus rove | D |
| Whose radiant presence gilds the Paphian grove | D |
| And curling clouds of incense hide the skies | E |
| O beauteous goddess teach me how to move | W |
| Inspire my tongue with eloquence of love | X |
| If lost Adonis e'er thy bosom warm'd | B |
| If e'er his eyes or godlike figure charm'd | B |
| Think on those hours when first you felt the dart | B |
| Think how you pin'd in absense of the swain | I |
| By those uneasy minutes know my pain | I |
| Even while Cydippe to Diana bows | Y |
| And at her shrine renews her virgin vows | Y |
| The lover taught by thee her pride o'ercame | U |
| She reads his oaths and feels an equal flame | U |
| Oh may my flame like thine Acontius prove | W |
| May Venus dictate and reward my love | X |
| When crowds of suitors Atlanta try'd | B |
| She wealth and beauty wit and fame defy'd | B |
| Each daring lover with advent'rous pace | Z |
| Pursu'd his wishes in the dangerous race | Z |
| Like the swift hind the bounding damsel flies | E |
| Strains to the goal the distanc'd lover dies | E |
| Hippomenes O Venus was thy care | F |
| You taught the swain to stay the flying fair | F |
| Thy golden present caught the virgin's eyes | E |
| She stoops he rushes on and gains the prize | E |
| Say Cyprian deity what gift what art | B |
| Shall humble into love Corinna's heart | B |
| If only some bright toy can charm her sight | B |
| Teach me what present may suspend her flight | B |
| - | |
| Thus the desponding youth his flame declares | M |
| The goddess with a nod his passion hears | A2 |
| - | |
| Far in Cytherea stands a spacious grove | D |
| Sacred to Venus and the god of love | X |
| Here the luxuriant myrtle rears her head | B |
| Like the tall oak the fragrant branches spread | B |
| Here nature all her sweets profusely pours | B2 |
| And paints the enamell'd ground with various flowers | C2 |
| Deep in the gloomy shade a grotto bends | D2 |
| Wide thro' the craggy rock an arch extends | D2 |
| The rugged stone is cloth'd with mantling vines | E2 |
| And round the cave the creeping woodbine twines | E2 |
| - | |
| Here busy Cupids with pernicious art | B |
| Form the stiff bow and forge the fatal dart | B |
| All share the toil while some the bellows ply | H |
| Others with feathers teach the shafts to fly | H |
| Some with joint force whirl round the stony wheel | F2 |
| Where streams the sparkling fire from temper'd steel | F2 |
| Some point their arrows with the nicest skill | G2 |
| And with the warlike store their quivers fill | G2 |
| - | |
| A different toil another forge employs | E2 |
| Here the loud hammer fashions female toys | E2 |
| Hence is the fair with ornament supply'd | B |
| Hence sprung the glittering implements of pride | B |
| Each trinket that adorns the modern dame | U |
| First to these little artists ow'd its frame | U |
| Here an unfinish'd diamond crosslet lay | A |
| To which soft lovers adoration pay | A |
| There was the pollish'd crystal bottle seen | H2 |
| That with quick scents revives the modish spleen | H2 |
| Here the yet rude unjointed snuff box lies | E2 |
| Which serves the rally'd fop for smart replies | E2 |
| There piles of paper rose in glided reams | E2 |
| The future records of the lover's flames | E2 |
| Here clouded canes 'midst heaps of toys are found | B |
| And inlaid tweezer cases strow the ground | B |
| There stands the toilette nursery of charms | E2 |
| Completely furnish'd with bright beauty's arms | E2 |
| The patch the powder box pulville perfumes | E2 |
| Pins paints a flattering glass and black lead combs | E2 |
| - | |
| The toilsome hours in different labour slide | B |
| Some work the file and some the graver guide | B |
| From the loud anvil the quick blow rebounds | E2 |
| And their rais'd arms descend in tuneful sounds | E2 |
| Thus when Semiramis in ancient days | E2 |
| Bade Babylon her mighty bulwarks raise | E2 |
| A swarm of labourers different tasks attend | B |
| Here pullies make the pond'rous oak ascend | B |
| With echoing strokes the cragged quarry groans | E2 |
| While there the chissel forms the shapeless stones | E2 |
| The weighty mallet deals resounding blows | E2 |
| Till the proud battlements her towers enclose | E2 |
| - | |
| Now Venus mounts her car she shakes the reins | E2 |
| And steers her turtles to Cythera's plains | E2 |
| Straight to the grot with graceful step she goes | E2 |
| Her loose ambrosial hair behind her flows | E2 |
| The swelling bellows heave for breath no more | I2 |
| All drop their silent hammers on the floor | I2 |
| In deep suspense the mighty labour stands | E2 |
| While thus the goddess spoke her mild commands | E2 |
| - | |
| Industrious Loves your present toils forbear | I2 |
| A more important task demands your care | I2 |
| Long has the scheme employ'd my thoughtful mind | B |
| By judgement ripen'd and by time refin'd | B |
| That glorious bird have ye not often seen | H2 |
| Who draws the car of the celestial queen | H2 |
| Have ye not oft survey'd his varying dyes | E2 |
| His tall all gilded o'er with Argus' eyes | E2 |
| have ye not seen him in the sunny day | A |
| Unfurl his plumes and all his pride display | A |
| Then suddenly contract his dazzling train | I |
| And with long trailing feathers sweep the plain | I |
| Learn from this hint let this instruct your art | B |
| Thin taper sticks must from one centre part | B |
| Let these into the quadrant's form divide | B |
| The spreading ribs with snowy paper bide | B |
| Here shall the pencil bid its colours flow | J2 |
| And make a miniature creation grow | J2 |
| Let the machine in equal foldings close | E2 |
| And now its plaited surface wide dispose | E2 |
| So shall the fair her idle hand employ | R |
| And grace each motion with the restless toy | R |
| With various play bid grateful zephyrs rise | E2 |
| While love in ev'ry grateful zephyr flies | E2 |
| - | |
| The master Cupid traces out the lines | E2 |
| And with judicious hand the draught designs | E2 |
| The expecting Loves with joy the model view | K2 |
| And the joint labour eagerly p | L2 |
John Gay
(1)
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