A Conformable Citizen
The modest front of this small floore,Beleeve me, Reader, can say moreThan many a braver marble can;Here lyes a truly honest man.One whose conscience was a thing,That troubled neither Church nor King.One of those few that in this towne,Honour all Preachers, heare their owne.Sermons he heard, yet not so manyAs left no time to practise any.He heard them reverendly, and thenHis practice preach'd them o're agen.His Parlour-Sermons rather wereThose to the eye, then to the eare.His prayers took their price and strength,Not from the lowdnesse, nor the length.He was a Protestant at home,Not onely in despight of Rome.He lov'd his Father; yet his zealeTore not off his Mother's veile.To th' Church he did allow her dresse,True Beauty, to true Holinesse.Peace, which he lov'd in life, did lendHer hand to bring him to his end.When Age and Death call'd for the score,No surfets were to reckon for.Death tore not--therefore--but sans strifeGently untwin'd his thread of life.What remaines then, but that thouWrite these lines, Reader, in thy brow,And by his faire example's light,Burne in thy imitation bright.So while these lines can but bequeathA life perhaps unto his death;His better Epitaph shall bee,His life still kept alive in thee.
Words in this poem
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- 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.]
- reverendly adv.
- Reverently. Foxe.
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- sans prep.
- Without; deprived or destitute of. Rarely used as an English word. [F., from L. sine without.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- bequeath v. t.
- To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe to say, speak. See Quoth.]
- 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
A Conformable Citizen is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #38549; 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 Crashaw, A Conformable Citizen, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/a-conformable-citizen.html, id L12115.
Form and metre
A Conformable Citizen is 36 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 --AABBCCDD----EEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM--NN floore · more · canA · manA · thingB · kingB · towneC · owneC · manyD · anyD · then · agen · were · eare · strengthE · lengthE · homeF · romeF · zealeG · veileG · dresseH · holinesseH · lendI · endI · scoreJ · forJ · strifeK · lifeK · thouL · browL · lightM · brightM · bequeath · death · beeN · theeN
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The modest front of this small floore, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Beleeve me, Reader, can say more | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Than many a braver marble can; | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Here lyes a truly honest man. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| One whose conscience was a thing, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That troubled neither Church nor King. | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| One of those few that in this towne, | 8 | ········ |
| Honour all Preachers, heare their owne. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Sermons he heard, yet not so many | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| As left no time to practise any. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| He heard them reverendly, and then | 9 | ···/˘˘˘·· |
| His practice preach'd them o're agen. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| His Parlour-Sermons rather were | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Those to the eye, then to the eare. | 8 | ········ |
| His prayers took their price and strength, | 7 | ······· |
| Not from the lowdnesse, nor the length. | 8 | ········ |
| He was a Protestant at home, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Not onely in despight of Rome. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He lov'd his Father; yet his zeale | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Tore not off his Mother's veile. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| To th' Church he did allow her dresse, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| True Beauty, to true Holinesse. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Peace, which he lov'd in life, did lend | 8 | ········ |
| Her hand to bring him to his end. | 8 | ········ |
| When Age and Death call'd for the score, | 8 | ········ |
| No surfets were to reckon for. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Death tore not--therefore--but sans strife | 8 | ········ |
| Gently untwin'd his thread of life. | 8 | /˘······ |
| What remaines then, but that thou | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Write these lines, Reader, in thy brow, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And by his faire example's light, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Burne in thy imitation bright. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| So while these lines can but bequeath | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A life perhaps unto his death; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| His better Epitaph shall bee, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| His life still kept alive in thee. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
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.