Famous Parsons Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous Parsons poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous parsons poems. These examples illustrate what a famous parsons poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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An Essay On Criticism

...ose of State,
And publick Faction doubles private Hate.
Pride, Malice, Folly, against Dryden rose,
In various Shapes of Parsons, Criticks, Beaus;
But Sense surviv'd, when merry Jests were past;
For rising Merit will buoy up at last.
Might he return, and bless once more our Eyes,
New Blackmores and new Milbourns must arise;
Nay shou'd great Homer lift his awful Head,
Zoilus again would start up from the Dead.
Envy will Merit as its Shade pursue,
But like a Shadow, proves the S...Read more of this...
by Pope, Alexander


Epistle to Mrs. Tyler

...ion flesh is heir to, 
Fair patience is the gentlest virtue; 
This is a truth our grandames teach, 
Our poets sing, and parsons preach; 
Yet after all, dear Moll, the fact is 
We seldom put it into practice; 
I'll warrant (if one knew the truth) 
You've call'd me many an idle youth, 
And styl'd me rude ungrateful bear, 
Enough to make a parson swear. 

I shall not make a long oration 
in order for my vindication, 
For what the plague can I say more 
Than lazy dogs have done b...Read more of this...
by Smart, Christopher

Juggling Jerry

...we kiss'd, we juggled all day.
Joy was the heart of Juggling Jerry!
Now from his old girl he's juggled away.

It's past parsons to console us:
No, nor no doctor fetch for me:
I can die without my bolus;
Two of a trade, lass, never agree!
Parson and Doctor!--don't they love rarely
Fighting the devil in other men's fields!
Stand up yourself and match him fairly:
Then see how the rascal yields!

I, lass, have lived no gipsy, flaunting
Finery while his poor helpmate grubs:
Coin I...Read more of this...
by Meredith, George

Shakespeares Ghost - A Parody

...appear on your stage now,
Not an Andromache e'en, not an Orestes, my friend?"
"No! there is naught to be seen there but parsons,
and syndics of commerce,
Secretaries perchance, ensigns, and majors of horse."
"But, my good friend, pray tell me, what can such people e'er meet with
That can be truly called great?--what that is great can they do?"
"What? Why they form cabals, they lend upon mortgage, they pocket
Silver spoons, and fear not e'en in the stocks to be placed."
"Whenc...Read more of this...
by Schiller, Friedrich von

The Duties of an Aide-de-camp

...e, my Lord! ain't he fine! 
How is that for a swine!" 
When it isn't a patch on its owner! 

We fix up the dinners 
For parsons and sinners 
And lawyers and bishops and showmen, 
And a judge of the court 
We put next to a "sport", 
And an Orangeman next to a Roman. 

We send invitations 
To all celebrations, 
Some Nobody's presence entreating, 
And the old folks of all 
We invite to a ball, 
And the young -- to a grandmothers' meeting. 

And when we go dancing, 
Like cart-hor...Read more of this...
by Paterson, Andrew Barton


The Everlasting Mercy

...stlings with the spirit; 
I ran acrosss, and barred his path. 
His turkey gills went red as wrath 
And then he froze as parsons can. 
"The police will deal with you, my man." 
"Not yet, "said I, "not yet they won't; 
And now you'll hear me, like or don't. 
The English Church both is and was 
A subsidy of Caiaphas. 
I don't believe in Prayer or Bible, 
They're lies all through, and you're a libel, 
A libel on the Devil's plan 
When first he miscreated man. 
You mumble through ...Read more of this...
by Masefield, John

The Old Huntsman

...open weather; 
That’s what I’m doing now. 

And likely, too, 
The frost’ll be a long ’un, and the night 
One sleep. The parsons say we’ll wake to find 
A country blinding-white with dazzle of snow. 

The naked stars make men feel lonely, wheeling 
And glinting on the puddles in the road. 

And then you listen to the wind, and wonder 
If folk are quite such bucks as they appear 
When dressed by London tailors, looking down 
Their boots at covert side, and thinking big. 

. . ....Read more of this...
by Sassoon, Siegfried

The Parsons Son

...This is the song of the parson's son, as he squats in his shack alone,
On the wild, weird nights, when the Northern Lights shoot up from the frozen zone,
And it's sixty below, and couched in the snow the hungry huskies moan:

"I'm one of the Arctic brotherhood, I'm an old-time pioneer.
I came with the first -- O God! how I've cursed this Yukon -- but still...Read more of this...
by Service, Robert William

The Place of the Damned

...n;
And into the bargain I'll readily give you
Damned ignorant prelates, and counsellors privy.
Then let us no longer by parsons be flammed,
For we know by these marks the place of the damned:
And HELL to be sure is at Paris or Rome.
How happy for us that it is not at home!...Read more of this...
by Swift, Jonathan

The Sergeants Song

...WHEN Lawyers strive to heal a breach,
And Parsons practise what they preach;
Then Little Boney he'll pounce down,
And march his men on London town!
Rollicum-rorum, tol-lol-lorum,
Rollicum-rorum, tol-lol-lay!

When Justices hold equal scales,
And Rogues are only found in jails;
Then Little Boney he'll pounce down,
And march his men on London town!
Rollicum-rorum, etc.

When Rich Men find their wealth...Read more of this...
by Hardy, Thomas

The Song Of The Wage-Slave

...When the long, long day is over, and the Big Boss gives me my pay,
I hope that it won't be hell-fire, as some of the parsons say.
And I hope that it won't be heaven, with some of the parsons I've met --
All I want is just quiet, just to rest and forget.
Look at my face, toil-furrowed; look at my calloused hands;
Master, I've done Thy bidding, wrought in Thy many lands --
Wrought for the little masters, big-bellied they be, and rich;
I've done their desire for a daily hire,...Read more of this...
by Service, Robert William

The Virginity

...e him sick to hear or see,
Still, what she left of him will mostly choose
 Her skirts to sit by. How comes such to be?

Parsons in pulpits, tax-payers in pews,
 Kings on your thrones, you know as well as me,
We've only one virginity to lose,
 And where we lost it there our hearts will be!...Read more of this...
by Kipling, Rudyard

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