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Poem
January 27, 1786
Fowle's New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
What is this article about?
A rustic clown lounges under an oak, grumbling about Fortune and nature's flawed design, suggesting oaks should bear pumpkins and vines acorns. An acorn falls on his head, and a traveler notes the irony if it were a pumpkin.
Merged-components note: The epigraph 'Parnallian Spring' is positioned above and likely introduces the poem 'THE GRUMBLING CLOWN'. Merging as it forms a single literary unit.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Parnallian Spring.
THE GRUMBLING CLOWN.
BENEATH an oak a rustic clown
Lay lounging in the shade,
Complaining loud of Fortune's gifts,
And call'd her---partial jade.
The works of Providence were wrong,
And bad was all in sight :
He knew some things were wrong contriv'd
And he could set them right.
"For instance." cries the grumbling churl,
"Behold this sturdy tree ;
Remark the little things it bears,
And what disparity!
Again--observe yon pumpkins grow,
And see ! the stalks how small !
Unable to support their fruit,
So bulky are they all !
Now, I, if I had power to do't,
Would alter thus the case :
That this large tree should pumpkins bear,
And acorns take their place."
He spoke : and, rising on his breech,
Strait from the tree fell down
An acorn of the smaller size,
And pitch'd upon his crown.
"Now " says a traveller, who had heard
The whole the clown had said,
"Suppose the tree had pumpkins borne,
What would have saved thy head ?"
THE GRUMBLING CLOWN.
BENEATH an oak a rustic clown
Lay lounging in the shade,
Complaining loud of Fortune's gifts,
And call'd her---partial jade.
The works of Providence were wrong,
And bad was all in sight :
He knew some things were wrong contriv'd
And he could set them right.
"For instance." cries the grumbling churl,
"Behold this sturdy tree ;
Remark the little things it bears,
And what disparity!
Again--observe yon pumpkins grow,
And see ! the stalks how small !
Unable to support their fruit,
So bulky are they all !
Now, I, if I had power to do't,
Would alter thus the case :
That this large tree should pumpkins bear,
And acorns take their place."
He spoke : and, rising on his breech,
Strait from the tree fell down
An acorn of the smaller size,
And pitch'd upon his crown.
"Now " says a traveller, who had heard
The whole the clown had said,
"Suppose the tree had pumpkins borne,
What would have saved thy head ?"
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Satire Society
What keywords are associated?
Grumbling Clown
Nature Complaint
Acorn Irony
Moral Fable
Providence Critique
Poem Details
Title
The Grumbling Clown.
Form / Style
Rhymed Couplets
Key Lines
"Now " Says A Traveller, Who Had Heard
The Whole The Clown Had Said,
"Suppose The Tree Had Pumpkins Borne,
What Would Have Saved Thy Head ?"