An Epitaph on Dr. Donne, Dean of Pauls
He that would write an epitaph for thee,And do it well, must first begin to beSuch as thou wert; for none can truly knowThy worth, thy life, but he that hath liv’d so.He must have wit to spare, and to hurl downEnough to keep the gallants of the town;He must have learning plenty, both the lawsCivil and common, to judge any cause;Divinity great store, above the rest,Not of the last edition, but the best.He must have language, travel, all the arts,Judgment to use, or else he wants thy parts:He must have friends the highest, able to do,Such as Mecænas and Augustus too.He must have such a sickness, such a death,Or else his vain descriptions come beneath.Who then shall write an epitaph for thee,He must be dead first; let ’t alone for me.
Here, or not many feet from hence,The virtue lies call’d Patience.Sickness and Death did do her honourBy loosing paine and feare upon her.Tis true they forst her to a grave,That’s all the triumph that they have....A silly one.... Retreat o’er nightProves conquest in the morning-fight:She will rise up against them both....All sleep, believe it, is not sloth.And, thou that read’st her elegie,Take something of her historie:She had one husband and one sonne;Ask who they were, and then have doone.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- sonne n.
- A male child; the male issue, or offspring, of a parent, father or mother. [OE. sone, sune, AS. sunu; akin to D. zoon, OS., OFries., & OHG. sunu, G. sohn, Icel. sonr, Sw. son, Dan. sön, Goth. sunus, Lith. sunus, Russ. suin', Skr. sunu (]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Epitaph on Dr. Donne, Dean of Pauls is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Richard Corbet, late bishop of Oxford and of Norwich 4th edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #65375; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Richard Corbet, An Epitaph on Dr. Donne, Dean of Pauls, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/an-epitaph-on-dr-donne-dean-of-pauls.html, id L08906.
Form and metre
An Epitaph on Dr. Donne, Dean of Pauls is 32 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 81% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG--AA theeA · beA · knowB · soB · downC · townC · lawsD · causeD · restE · bestE · artsF · partsF · doG · tooG · death · beneath · theeA · meA
- 2 AA--BBCCDDEE-- henceA · patienceA · honour · her · graveB · haveB · nightC · fightC · bothD · slothD · elegieE · historieE · sonne · doone
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 |
|---|---|---|
| He that would write an epitaph for thee, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And do it well, must first begin to be | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Such as thou wert; for none can truly know | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thy worth, thy life, but he that hath liv’d so. | 10 | ·········· |
| He must have wit to spare, and to hurl down | 10 | ·········· |
| Enough to keep the gallants of the town; | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| He must have learning plenty, both the laws | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Civil and common, to judge any cause; | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Divinity great store, above the rest, | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| Not of the last edition, but the best. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| He must have language, travel, all the arts, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Judgment to use, or else he wants thy parts: | 10 | /˘········ |
| He must have friends the highest, able to do, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| Such as Mecænas and Augustus too. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| He must have such a sickness, such a death, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Or else his vain descriptions come beneath. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Who then shall write an epitaph for thee, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| He must be dead first; let ’t alone for me. | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| Here, or not many feet from hence, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The virtue lies call’d Patience. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Sickness and Death did do her honour | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| By loosing paine and feare upon her. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Tis true they forst her to a grave, | 8 | ········ |
| That’s all the triumph that they have.... | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A silly one.... Retreat o’er night | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Proves conquest in the morning-fight: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| She will rise up against them both.... | 8 | ········ |
| All sleep, believe it, is not sloth. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And, thou that read’st her elegie, | 8 | ········ |
| Take something of her historie: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She had one husband and one sonne; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ask who they were, and then have doone. | 8 | ········ |
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