Skip to content
Linespedia

An Answer To A Friend's Question

By Jonathan Swift

Topics: classic

The furniture that best doth please     St. Patrick's Dean, good Sir, are these:     The knife and fork with which I eat;     And next the pot that boils the meat;     The next to be preferr'd, I think,     Is the glass in which I drink;     The shelves on which my books I keep     And the bed on which I sleep;     An antique elbow-chair between,     Big enough to hold the Dean;     And the stove that gives delight     In the cold bleak wintry night:     To these we add a thing below,     More for use reserved than show:     These are what the Dean do please;     All superfluous are but these.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"The furniture that best doth please..."

"An Answer To A Friend's Question" is a quintessential example of Jonathan Swift's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:Jonathan Swift

"The furniture that best doth please..." by Jonathan Swift

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"The glass, by lovers' nonsense blurr'd,         Dims and obscures our sight;     So, when our passions Love has stirr'd,         It darkens Rea"

"BEING AN EXCELLENT NEW SONG UPON THE SURRENDER OF DUNKIRK TO GENERAL HILL     1712     To the tune of "The King shall enjoy his own again.""

"WRITTEN IN APRIL 1709, AND FIRST PRINTED IN "THE TATLER"[1]     Now hardly here and there an hackney-coach     Appearing, show'd the ruddy mor"

"Fluttering spread thy purple pinions,         Gentle Cupid, o'er my heart:     I a slave in thy dominions;         Nature must give way to art."

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Jonathan Swift

About Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) was an Irish satirist, essayist, and poet. Best known for "Gulliver's Travels," his poetry includes "A Description of a City Shower" and "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift." His sharp wit and moral indignation made him one of the greatest satirists in English.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"The glass, by lovers' nonsense blurr'd,         Di..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.