Horace, Book I, Ode Xiv Paraphrased And Inscribed To Ireland Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BBCCDDEE FGHHIIJJKKLLMMDDNODD PPQQRRSSMMTTUUVVWWXX YYZZA2A2HHKKB2B2C2C2 D2D2| THE INSCRIPTION | A |
| - | |
| Poor floating isle tost on ill fortune's waves | B |
| Ordain'd by fate to be the land of slaves | B |
| Shall moving Delos now deep rooted stand | C |
| Thou fix'd of old be now the moving land | C |
| Although the metaphor be worn and stale | D |
| Betwixt a state and vessel under sail | D |
| Let me suppose thee for a ship a while | E |
| And thus address thee in the sailor style | E |
| - | |
| Unhappy ship thou art return'd in vain | F |
| New waves shall drive thee to the deep again | G |
| Look to thyself and be no more the sport | H |
| Of giddy winds but make some friendly port | H |
| Lost are thy oars that used thy course to guide | I |
| Like faithful counsellors on either side | I |
| Thy mast which like some aged patriot stood | J |
| The single pillar for his country's good | J |
| To lead thee as a staff directs the blind | K |
| Behold it cracks by yon rough eastern wind | K |
| Your cables burst and you must quickly feel | L |
| The waves impetuous enter at your keel | L |
| Thus commonwealths receive a foreign yoke | M |
| When the strong cords of union once are broke | M |
| Tom by a sudden tempest is thy sail | D |
| Expanded to invite a milder gale | D |
| As when some writer in a public cause | N |
| His pen to save a sinking nation draws | O |
| While all is calm his arguments prevail | D |
| The people's voice expands his paper sail | D |
| Till power discharging all her stormy bags | P |
| Flutters the feeble pamphlet into rags | P |
| The nation scared the author doom'd to death | Q |
| Who fondly put his trust in poplar breath | Q |
| A larger sacrifice in vain you vow | R |
| There's not a power above will help you now | R |
| A nation thus who oft Heaven's call neglects | S |
| In vain from injured Heaven relief expects | S |
| 'Twill not avail when thy strong sides are broke | M |
| That thy descent is from the British oak | M |
| Or when your name and family you boast | T |
| From fleets triumphant o'er the Gallic coast | T |
| Such was Ierne's claim as just as thine | U |
| Her sons descended from the British line | U |
| Her matchless sons whose valour still remains | V |
| On French records for twenty long campaigns | V |
| Yet from an empress now a captive grown | W |
| She saved Britannia's rights and lost her own | W |
| In ships decay'd no mariner confides | X |
| Lured by the gilded stern and painted sides | X |
| Yet at a ball unthinking fools delight | Y |
| In the gay trappings of a birth day night | Y |
| They on the gold brocades and satins raved | Z |
| And quite forgot their country was enslaved | Z |
| Dear vessel still be to thy steerage just | A2 |
| Nor change thy course with every sudden gust | A2 |
| Like supple patriots of the modern sort | H |
| Who turn with every gale that blows from court | H |
| Weary and sea sick when in thee confined | K |
| Now for thy safety cares distract my mind | K |
| As those who long have stood the storms of state | B2 |
| Retire yet still bemoan their country's fate | B2 |
| Beware and when you hear the surges roar | C2 |
| Avoid the rocks on Britain's angry shore | C2 |
| They lie alas too easy to be found | D2 |
| For thee alone they lie the island round | D2 |
Jonathan Swift
(1)
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About Horace, Book I, Ode Xiv Paraphrased And Inscribed To Ireland
Horace, Book I, Ode Xiv Paraphrased And Inscribed To Ireland is a poem by Jonathan Swift. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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