In Memoriam
How blessed with thee the path could I have trodOf quiet life, above cold want's hard fate,(And little wishing more) nor of the greatEnvious, or their proud name; but it pleased GODTo take thee to his mercy: thou didst goIn youth and beauty to thy cold death-bed;Even whilst on dreams of bliss we fondly fed,Of years to come of comfort! Be it so.Ere this I have felt sorrow; and even now,Though sometimes the unbidden tear will start,And half unman the miserable heart,The cold dew I shall wipe from my sad brow,And say, since hopes of bliss on earth are vain,Best friend, farewell, till we do meet again!
Words in this poem
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- unbidden a.
- Not bidden; not commanded.
- unman v. t.
- To deprive of the distinctive qualities of a human being, as reason, or the like. South. [1st pref. un- + man.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Memoriam is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. 1 With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan, Project Gutenberg ebook #18915; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Lisle Bowles, In Memoriam, in The Poetical Works, Volume I (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/in-memoriam.html, id L09896.
Form and metre
In Memoriam is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG trodA · fateB · greatA · godB · goC · bedD · fedC · soD · nowE · startF · heartE · browF · vainG · againG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How blessed with thee the path could I have trod | 10 | ·········· |
| Of quiet life, above cold want's hard fate, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| (And little wishing more) nor of the great | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Envious, or their proud name; but it pleased GOD | 10 | /˘········ |
| To take thee to his mercy: thou didst go | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In youth and beauty to thy cold death-bed; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Even whilst on dreams of bliss we fondly fed, | 10 | /······/˘· |
| Of years to come of comfort! Be it so. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Ere this I have felt sorrow; and even now, | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| Though sometimes the unbidden tear will start, | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| And half unman the miserable heart, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘˘· |
| The cold dew I shall wipe from my sad brow, | 10 | ·········· |
| And say, since hopes of bliss on earth are vain, | 10 | ·········· |
| Best friend, farewell, till we do meet again! | 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.