On the Earl of Dorsets Death
Let no prophane, ignoble foot tread here,This hallowed piece of earth, Dorset lyes there:A small poor relique of a noble spirit,Free as the air, and ample as his merit:A soul refin’d, no proud forgetting lord,But mindful of mean names, and of his word:Who lov’d men for his honour, not his ends,And had the noblest way of getting friendsBy loving first, and yet who knew the court,But understood it better by reportThan practice: he nothing took from thenceBut the kings favour for his recompence.Who, for religion or his countreys good,Neither his honour valued, nor his blood.Rich in the worlds opinion, and mens praise,And full in all we could desire, but days.He that is warn’d of this, and shall forbearTo vent a sigh for him, or shed a tear,May he live long scorn’d, and unpitied fall,And want a mourner at his funeral!
Words in this poem
- mindful a.
- Bearing in mind; regardful; attentive; heedful; observant.
- 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.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- 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,]
- mourner n.
- One who mourns or is grieved at any misfortune, as the death of a friend.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Earl of Dorsets Death 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, On the Earl of Dorsets Death, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/on-the-earl-of-dorsets-death.html, id L08903.
Form and metre
On the Earl of Dorsets Death is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% 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 AA----BBCCDDEEFFAAGG hereA · thereA · spirit · merit · lord · word · endsB · friendsB · courtC · reportC · thenceD · recompenceD · goodE · bloodE · praiseF · daysF · forbearA · tearA · fallG · funeralG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Let no prophane, ignoble foot tread here, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| This hallowed piece of earth, Dorset lyes there: | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| A small poor relique of a noble spirit, | 11 | ···˘/··/˘/˘ |
| Free as the air, and ample as his merit: | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| A soul refin’d, no proud forgetting lord, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| But mindful of mean names, and of his word: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Who lov’d men for his honour, not his ends, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And had the noblest way of getting friends | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| By loving first, and yet who knew the court, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But understood it better by report | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Than practice: he nothing took from thence | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| But the kings favour for his recompence. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Who, for religion or his countreys good, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Neither his honour valued, nor his blood. | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Rich in the worlds opinion, and mens praise, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| And full in all we could desire, but days. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| He that is warn’d of this, and shall forbear | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To vent a sigh for him, or shed a tear, | 10 | ·········· |
| May he live long scorn’d, and unpitied fall, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| And want a mourner at his funeral! | 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.