Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
August 6, 1803
Rhode Island Republican
Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
What is this article about?
Satirical poem depicting Coræus, a perpetual grumbler, who complains through unmarried life, marriage, fatherhood, financial woes, illness, and finally death, highlighting the folly of discontent.
Clipping
OCR Quality
90%
Excellent
Full Text
The GRUMBLER.
Coræus unmarried, grumbled for wife:
Married he grumbles;
A child is wanted; Heaven the being sent;
Yet till he grumbled, still is discontent.
Why, what's the matter, Coræus? Worse and
worse!
The seeming blessing's turn'd into a curse;
The nurse and midwife drain my pockets dry;
I've nought to keep the boy with by and by.
A purse he had; yet now, as heretofore,
He grumbles on, "Had it been o' much more,
I might have left off labor, liv'd in peace;
But so it happen'd, all my wants are great."
He sickens; now he grumbled without doubt:
"When will my health return? My money's
out."
Death came and struck him: at one fatal blow,
He sent him grumbling to the shades below.
Coræus unmarried, grumbled for wife:
Married he grumbles;
A child is wanted; Heaven the being sent;
Yet till he grumbled, still is discontent.
Why, what's the matter, Coræus? Worse and
worse!
The seeming blessing's turn'd into a curse;
The nurse and midwife drain my pockets dry;
I've nought to keep the boy with by and by.
A purse he had; yet now, as heretofore,
He grumbles on, "Had it been o' much more,
I might have left off labor, liv'd in peace;
But so it happen'd, all my wants are great."
He sickens; now he grumbled without doubt:
"When will my health return? My money's
out."
Death came and struck him: at one fatal blow,
He sent him grumbling to the shades below.
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
Epigram
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Grumbler
Coræus
Discontent
Life Stages
Moral Lesson
Perpetual Complaint
Poem Details
Title
The Grumbler.
Form / Style
Rhymed Couplets
Key Lines
Why, What's The Matter, Coræus? Worse And Worse!
He Grumbles On, "Had It Been O' Much More,
He Sickens; Now He Grumbled Without Doubt:
"When Will My Health Return? My Money's Out."
He Sent Him Grumbling To The Shades Below.