Epitaph, Intended for Himself
Escaped the gloom of mortal life, a soulHere leaves its mouldering tenement of clay,Safe where no cares their whelming billows roll,No doubts bewilder, and no hopes betray.
Like thee, I once have stemm'd the sea of life;Like thee, have languish'd after empty joys;Like thee, have labour'd in the stormy strife;Been grieved for trifles, and amused with toys.
Yet, for a while, 'gainst Passion's threatful blastLet steady Reason urge the struggling oar;Shot through the dreary gloom, the morn at lastGives to thy longing eye the blissful shore.
Forget my frailties, thou art also frail;Forgive my lapses, for thyself mayst fall;Nor read, unmoved, my artless tender tale,I was a friend, O man! to thee, to all.
Words in this poem
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- threatful a.
- Full of threats; having a menacing appearance.
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epitaph, Intended for Himself is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Beattie, Blair, and Falconer With Lives, Critical Dissertations, and Explanatory Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #8695; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Beattie, Epitaph, Intended for Himself, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/epitaph-intended-for-himself.html, id L09616.
Form and metre
Epitaph, Intended for Himself is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB soulA · clayB · rollA · betrayB
- 2 ABAB lifeA · joysB · strifeA · toysB
- 3 ABAB blastA · oarB · lastA · shoreB
- 4 ABAB frailA · fallB · taleA · allB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Escaped the gloom of mortal life, a soul | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Here leaves its mouldering tenement of clay, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Safe where no cares their whelming billows roll, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| No doubts bewilder, and no hopes betray. | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Like thee, I once have stemm'd the sea of life; | 10 | ·········· |
| Like thee, have languish'd after empty joys; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Like thee, have labour'd in the stormy strife; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Been grieved for trifles, and amused with toys. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Yet, for a while, 'gainst Passion's threatful blast | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Let steady Reason urge the struggling oar; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Shot through the dreary gloom, the morn at last | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Gives to thy longing eye the blissful shore. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Forget my frailties, thou art also frail; | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Forgive my lapses, for thyself mayst fall; | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·· |
| Nor read, unmoved, my artless tender tale, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| I was a friend, O man! to thee, to all. | 10 | ·········· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.