"Thus a large dumpling to its cell confin'd / (A very apt allusion to my mind)."
— Wolcot, John, pseud. Peter Pindar, (1738-1819)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1785-7, 1791, 1792
Metaphor
"Thus a large dumpling to its cell confin'd / (A very apt allusion to my mind)."
Metaphor in Context
What dire emotions shook the Monarch's soul!
Just like two billiard balls his eyes 'gan roll,
Whilst anger all his royal heart possess'd,
That, swelling, wildly bump'd against his breast,
Bounc'd at his ribs with all its might so stout,
As resolutely bent on jumping out,
T'avenge, with all its pow'rs the dire disgrace,
And nobly spit in the offender's face.
Thus a large dumpling to its cell confin'd
(A very apt allusion to my mind),
Lies snug, until the water waxeth hot,
Then bustles 'midst the tempest of the pot:
In vain!--the lid keeps down the child of dough,
That bouncing, tumbling, sweating, rolls below.
(pp. 11-2 in 1785 edition)
Just like two billiard balls his eyes 'gan roll,
Whilst anger all his royal heart possess'd,
That, swelling, wildly bump'd against his breast,
Bounc'd at his ribs with all its might so stout,
As resolutely bent on jumping out,
T'avenge, with all its pow'rs the dire disgrace,
And nobly spit in the offender's face.
Thus a large dumpling to its cell confin'd
(A very apt allusion to my mind),
Lies snug, until the water waxeth hot,
Then bustles 'midst the tempest of the pot:
In vain!--the lid keeps down the child of dough,
That bouncing, tumbling, sweating, rolls below.
(pp. 11-2 in 1785 edition)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry); confirmed in ECCO.
Citation
Published in four cantos. At least 28 entries in ESTC (1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796).
See The Lousiad: an Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto I. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: J. Jarvis, 1785). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
The Lousiad. An Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto II. With an Engraving by an Eminent Artist. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: G. Kearsley, 1787). <Link to ECCO>
The Lousiad, an Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto III. By Peter Pindar, Esquire. With an Engraving by an Eminent Artist (London: J. Evans, 1791). <Link to ECCO>
The Lousiad, an Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto IV. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: H. D. Symonds, 1792). <Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Peter Pindar, 4 vols. (London: Walker and Edwards, 1816). <Link to Volume I in Google Books>
See The Lousiad: an Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto I. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: J. Jarvis, 1785). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
The Lousiad. An Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto II. With an Engraving by an Eminent Artist. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: G. Kearsley, 1787). <Link to ECCO>
The Lousiad, an Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto III. By Peter Pindar, Esquire. With an Engraving by an Eminent Artist (London: J. Evans, 1791). <Link to ECCO>
The Lousiad, an Heroi-Comic Poem. Canto IV. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: H. D. Symonds, 1792). <Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Peter Pindar, 4 vols. (London: Walker and Edwards, 1816). <Link to Volume I in Google Books>
Date of Entry
03/26/2005
Date of Review
06/27/2012
