The Description Of A Salamander, 1705 Poem Rhyme Scheme

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 8 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 0 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Dashaun ( Version #2 )
by Dashaun Snipes
Dashaun ( Version #1 )
by Dashaun Snipes
A High Succubus
by Dashaun Snipes
Aftermath
by Dashaun Snipes
Aftermath
by Dashaun Snipes
I've Got Me
by Dashaun Snipes
Predictions
by Marlon Pitter
Not All Women Are The Same
by Marlon Pitter
The Teaching About Easter Is Falsehood
by Marlon Pitter
A Romance Between Junie And I Wasn't Meant To Be
by Marlon Pitter

Popular Poets

1. Emily Dickinson(2414 poems)
2. Madison Julius Cawein(1231 poems)
3. Ella Wheeler Wilcox(1136 poems)
4. William Wordsworth(1016 poems)
5. Robert Burns(986 poems)
6. Edgar Albert Guest(945 poems)
7. Thomas Moore(849 poems)
8. Robert Service(831 poems)

From Pliny Hist Nat lib x lib xxix	A
	-
As mastiff dogs in modern phrase are	B
Call'd Pompey Scipio and Caesar	C
As pies and daws are often styl'd	D
With Christian nicknames like a child	D
As we say Monsieur to an ape	E
Without offence to human shape	E
So men have got from bird and brute	F
Names that would best their nature suit	F
The Lion Eagle Fox and Boar	G
Were heroes' titles heretofore	G
Bestow'd as hi'roglyphics fit	H
To show their valour strength or wit	H
For what is understood by fame	I
Besides the getting of a name	I
But e'er since men invented guns	A
A diff'rent way their fancy runs	A
To paint a hero we inquire	J
For something that will conquer fire	C
Would you describe Turenne or Trump	K
Think of a bucket or a pump	K
Are these too low then find out grander	C
Call my LORD CUTTS a Salamander	C
'Tis well but since we live among	L
Detractors with an evil tongue	L
Who may object against the term	M
Pliny shall prove what we affirm	M
Pliny shall prove and we'll apply	N
And I'll be judg'd by standers by	N
First then our author has defined	O
This reptile of the serpent kind	O
With gaudy coat and shining train	P
But loathsome spots his body stain	P
Out from some hole obscure he flies	A
When rains descend and tempests rise	A
Till the sun clears the air and then	Q
Crawls back neglected to his den	Q
So when the war has raised a storm	R
I've seen a snake in human form	R
All stain'd with infamy and vice	A
Leap from the dunghill in a trice	A
Burnish and make a gaudy show	S
Become a general peer and beau	S
Till peace has made the sky serene	T
Then shrink into its hole again	Q
All this we grant why then look yonder	C
Sure that must be a Salamander	C
Further we are by Pliny told	U
This serpent is extremely cold	U
So cold that put it in the fire	C
'Twill make the very flames expire	J
Besides it spues a filthy froth	V
Whether thro' rage or lust or both	W
Of matter purulent and white	X
Which happening on the skin to light	X
And there corrupting to a wound	Y
Spreads leprosy and baldness round	Y
So have I seen a batter'd beau	S
By age and claps grown cold as snow	S
Whose breath or touch where'er he came	I
Blew out love's torch or chill'd the flame	I
And should some nymph who ne'er was cruel	Z
Like Carleton cheap or famed Du Ruel	A2
Receive the filth which he ejects	A
She soon would find the same effects	A
Her tainted carcass to pursue	A
As from the Salamander's spue	K
A dismal shedding of her locks	A
And if no leprosy a pox	A
Then I'll appeal to each bystander	C
If this be not a Salamander	C

Jonathan Swift

The Description Of A Salamander, 1705 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Write your comment about The Description Of A Salamander, 1705 poem by Jonathan Swift

Recent Interactions*

New Poems

Popular Poets