Andrew Jones by William Wordsworth (Poem, Summary, Paraphrase & Analysis)

 

Andrew Jones

by William Wordsworth

(Poem, Summary, Paraphrase & Analysis) 

Andrew Jones

I hate that Andrew Jones: he'll breed

His children up to waste and pillage;

I wish the press-gang or the drum

With its tantara sound would come,

And sweep him from the village!

 

I said not this, because he loves

Through the long day to swear and tipple;

But for the poor dear sake of one

To whom a foul deed he had done,

A friendless man—a cripple!

 

God knows what good he may have wrought,

But he hath meddled with my bread:

The dearest friend I ever had

Is in a prison, or is dead;

And for no cause but he was poor

And that the man was proud and pitiless and bad.

 

Summary

The speaker begins by expressing a strong dislike for a man named Andrew Jones, stating openly: "I hate that Andrew Jones." He wishes that Jones would be taken away from the village by force—perhaps by a military press-gang or the loud summons of a drum—implying that society would be better without him.

The speaker clarifies that his hatred is not because Jones engages in vices like swearing and drinking throughout the day. Those are not the primary reasons for his contempt. Instead, the speaker's anger stems from something far more serious: Jones has wronged a vulnerable person, described as a friendless man and a cripple—someone physically disabled and without support.

The speaker does not know whether Andrew Jones has done any good in his life, but he emphasizes that Jones has directly harmed him. This harm was done by interfering with his livelihood, symbolized by the phrase "he hath meddled with my bread."

The deepest wound, however, is that the speaker’s closest friend—likely the disabled man—has either been imprisoned or killed, and all because he was poor and defenseless, while Andrew Jones was rich, arrogant, and merciless.

The poem is a personal outcry against Andrew Jones, a wealthy and cruel man who used his power to oppress a helpless, disabled individual—the speaker’s dear friend—ultimately causing the friend's suffering or death. The speaker’s hatred is rooted in this unjust abuse, not in petty moral failings.

 

Line-by-line Paraphrase

I hate that Andrew Jones: he'll breed

Paraphrase:

I truly despise Andrew Jones; he will raise...

 

Line 2:

His children up to waste and pillage;

Paraphrase:

...his children to become destructive and lawless.

 

Line 3:

I wish the press-gang or the drum

Paraphrase:

I wish the navy recruiters or the military’s call to war...

 

Line 4:

With its tantara sound would come,

Paraphrase:

...with their blaring drums would come...

 

Line 5:

And sweep him from the village!

Paraphrase:

...and take him away from this village!

 

Line 6:

I said not this, because he loves

Paraphrase:

I’m not saying this because he enjoys...

 

Line 7:

Through the long day to swear and tipple;

Paraphrase:

...swearing and drinking alcohol all day long.

 

Line 8:

But for the poor dear sake of one

Paraphrase:

Rather, I say this out of sympathy for a poor and dear person...

 

Line 9:

To whom a foul deed he had done,

Paraphrase:

...to whom Jones has done something terribly wrong—

 

Line 10:

A friendless man—a cripple!

Paraphrase:

—A man who had no friends and was physically disabled.

 

Line 11:

God knows what good he may have wrought,

Paraphrase:

Only God knows whether Jones has done any good in his life...

 

Line 12:

But he hath meddled with my bread:

Paraphrase:

...but he has interfered with my means of earning a living.

 

Line 13:

The dearest friend I ever had

Paraphrase:

The closest and most beloved friend I ever had...

 

Line 14:

Is in a prison, or is dead;

Paraphrase:

...has either been locked away in prison or has died...

 

Line 15:

And for no cause but he was poor

Paraphrase:

...for no reason other than that he was poor...

 

Line 16:

And that the man was proud and pitiless and bad.

Paraphrase:

...and that Andrew Jones was arrogant, cruel, and wicked.

 

Analysis in Detail

Tone and Emotion

The tone of the poem is bitter, personal, and accusatory. Wordsworth gives voice to a speaker who is not a passive observer but someone deeply wounded by the injustices committed by Andrew Jones. The poem is fueled by a sense of moral outrage and grief, which intensifies as it unfolds. It blends private pain with a call for social accountability.

 

Character of Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones is portrayed as a negative symbol of wealth and power misused. He is not just personally immoral (given to drinking and swearing), but more dangerously, he is socially and ethically corrupt. His actions have real and devastating consequences for the poor and powerless. The speaker predicts that Jones will raise his children to continue this cycle of exploitation and destruction—indicating a generational curse of moral failure.

 

Use of Language

Wordsworth’s language here is direct, plain, and emotional. This simplicity strengthens the emotional impact. Phrases like "I hate that Andrew Jones" and "a friendless man—a cripple!" are unpolished and passionate—echoing the speaker’s raw and unfiltered voice. The use of exclamation marks, repetition ("And..."), and sharp declaratives shows the speaker's urgency and emotional turmoil.

 

Themes

Social Injustice

At its heart, the poem protests the abuse of power over the poor. Andrew Jones, a man of pride and pitiless wealth, has wronged a defenseless cripple simply because he could. This reveals a wider concern of Wordsworth’s—how society often treats the poor and disabled with indifference or cruelty.

Class and Power

The speaker draws attention to the imbalance between the rich and the poor. The wronged man suffers not because of wrongdoing, but because of his poverty and helplessness, while Jones’s wealth shields him from consequences. This reflects a broader 19th-century concern about the cruelty of the powerful toward the powerless.

Friendship and Loyalty

The speaker’s pain is not abstract. He is mourning a close friend, possibly dead or imprisoned. His hatred for Jones is deeply personal. The loss is not just of a fellow man, but of a deep bond, revealing a profound sense of loyalty and love.

Moral Corruption vs. External Vice

The speaker mentions Jones’s swearing and drinking, but explicitly states that these are not the reasons for his hatred. Instead, the poem emphasizes moral wickedness—Jones’s deliberate harm to another person. This draws a distinction between personal failings (like drunkenness) and deeper ethical failures (like cruelty and injustice).

 

Narrative Voice

The poem is a first-person monologue, giving it the intimacy of a personal confession or testimony. The speaker is not detached; he is emotionally invested, even consumed by the injustice done to his friend. This subjective viewpoint helps the reader feel the moral intensity and heartbreak in a way that a third-person narrator might not.

 

Structure and Rhythm

The poem is compact and forceful, structured in a way that builds emotional intensity. The first stanza sets up the hatred and desire for removal; the second clarifies the reason; the third delivers the devastating personal consequence. The rhythm supports the emotional pacing: it is steady, with occasional variation, helping the voice sound natural and emphatic.

 

Moral Message

Wordsworth uses this short piece to condemn indifference toward suffering, and to warn against the moral decay that wealth and pride can bring. It is also a defense of the voiceless—the crippled, the friendless, the poor. By giving voice to the speaker’s sorrow and rage, the poem becomes a kind of moral protest.