Laurel · John Davies · The Complete Poems, Volume I

From the Feare of Death in the Wicked Soules

John Davies (1569–1626) · 1596–1599

iambic pentameter · ABAB · 32 lines · from The Complete Poems, Volume I

And as the better spirit, when shee doth beareA scorne of death, doth shew she cannot die;So when the wicked Soule Death's face doth feare,Euen then she proues her owne eternitie.

For when Death's forme appeares, she feareth notAn vtter quenching or extinguishment;She would be glad to meet with such a lot,That so she might all future ill preuent:

But shee doth doubt what after may befall;For Nature's law accuseth her within;And saith, 'Tis true that is affirm'd by all,That after death there is a paine for sin.

Then she which hath bin hud-winkt from her birth,Doth first her selfe within Death's mirror see;And when her body doth returne to earth,She first takes care, how she alone shall bee.

Who euer sees these irreligious men,With burthen of a sicknesse weake and faint;But heares them talking of Religion then,And vowing of their soules to euery saint?

When was there euer cursèd atheist broughtVnto the gibbet, but he did adoreThat blessed Power, which he had set at nought,Scorn'd and blasphemèd all his life before?

These light vaine persons still are drunke and mad,With surfettings and pleasures of their youth;But at their deaths they are fresh, sober, sadThen they discerne, and then they speake the truth.

If then all Soules, both good and bad, doe teach,With generall voice, that soules can neuer die;'Tis not man's flattering glosse, but Nature's speech,Which, like God's Oracle, can neuer lie.

Words in this poem

shew n.: Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
saith: 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
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,]
atheist n.: One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being. [Gr. athéiste.]
gibbet n.: A kind of gallows; an upright post with an arm projecting from the top, on which, formerly, malefactors were hanged in chains, and their bodies allowed to remain asa warning. [OE. gibet, F. gibet, in OF. also club, fr. LL. gibetum;; cf. OF. gibe sort of sickle or hook, It. giubbetto gibbet, and giubbetta, dim. of giubba mane, also, an]
adore v. t.: To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
generall a.: Relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy. [F. général, fr. L. generalis. See Genus.]
oracle v. i.: To utter oracles.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

From the Feare of Death in the Wicked Soules is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Volume 1 of 2., Project Gutenberg ebook #44977; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: John Davies, From the Feare of Death in the Wicked Soules, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/from-the-feare-of-death-in-the-wicked-soules.html, id L08776.

Form and metre

From the Feare of Death in the Wicked Soules is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% 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 A-A- beare^A · die · feare^A · eternitie
2 ABAB not^A · extinguishment^B · lot^A · preuent^B
3 ABAB befall^A · within^B · all^A · sin^B
4 ABAB birth^A · see^B · earth^A · bee^B
5 ABAB men^A · faint^B · then^A · saint^B
6 ABAB brought^A · adore^B · nought^A · before^B
7 ABAB mad^A · youth^B · sad^A · truth^B
8 ABAB teach^A · die^B · speech^A · lie^B

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
And as the better spirit, when shee doth beare	10	···/˘/····
A scorne of death, doth shew she cannot die;	10	·······/˘·
So when the wicked Soule Death's face doth feare,	10	···/˘·····
Euen then she proues her owne eternitie.	10	··········
For when Death's forme appeares, she feareth not	11	···/˘˘/·/˘·
An vtter quenching or extinguishment;	9	··/˘·˘/˘˘
She would be glad to meet with such a lot,	10	··········
That so she might all future ill preuent:	9	·····/˘··
But shee doth doubt what after may befall;	10	········˘/
For Nature's law accuseth her within;	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
And saith, 'Tis true that is affirm'd by all,	10	······˘/··
That after death there is a paine for sin.	10	··········
Then she which hath bin hud-winkt from her birth,	10	··········
Doth first her selfe within Death's mirror see;	10	·······/˘·
And when her body doth returne to earth,	10	···/˘·····
She first takes care, how she alone shall bee.	10	······˘/··
Who euer sees these irreligious men,	9	·········
With burthen of a sicknesse weake and faint;	10	·/˘·······
But heares them talking of Religion then,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
And vowing of their soules to euery saint?	10	·/˘·······
When was there euer cursèd atheist brought	9	·····/˘˘·
Vnto the gibbet, but he did adore	10	···/˘···˘/
That blessed Power, which he had set at nought,	10	··/˘······
Scorn'd and blasphemèd all his life before?	9	·········
These light vaine persons still are drunke and mad,	10	···/˘·····
With surfettings and pleasures of their youth;	10	·····/˘···
But at their deaths they are fresh, sober, sad	10	·······/˘·
Then they discerne, and then they speake the truth.	10	··········
If then all Soules, both good and bad, doe teach,	10	··········
With generall voice, that soules can neuer die;	10	·/˘····/˘·
'Tis not man's flattering glosse, but Nature's speech,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Which, like God's Oracle, can neuer lie.	10	···/˘˘·/˘·

Notes from the edition 2

A. B. Grosart's notes to the Complete Poems of Sir John Davies (Project Gutenberg #44977).

Stanza 6, line 2 Spelled in 1622 edition 'Iiebbet,' but in 1599 and 1608 as above. G.
Stanza 7, line 3 = active, vigorous: an uncommon use of the word. G.

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.

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The Complete Poems, Volume I