Elegie on the L. C
Sorrow, who to this house scarce knew the way:This strange chance claimes strange wonder, and to usNothing can be so strange, as to weepe thus.'Tis well his lifes loud speaking workes deserve,And give praise too, our cold tongues could not serve:'Tis well, hee kept teares from our eyes before,That to fit this deepe ill, we might have store.Oh, if a sweet briar, climbe up by'a tree,If to a paradise that transplanted bee,Or fell'd, and burnt for holy sacrifice,Yet, that must wither, which by it did rise,As we for him dead: though no familieEre rigg'd a soule for heavens discoverieWith whom more Venturers more boldly dareVenture their states, with him in joy to share.Wee lose what all friends lov'd, him; he gaines nowBut life by death, which worst foes would allow,If hee could have foes, in whose practise grewAll vertues, whose names subtile Schoolmen knew.What ease, can hope that wee shall see'him, beget,When wee must die first, and cannot dye yet?His children are his pictures, Oh they beePictures of him dead, senselesse, cold as he.Here needs no marble Tombe, since hee is gone,He, and about him, his, are turn'd to stone.
Words in this poem
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- briar n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- 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,]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Elegie on the L. C is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (of 2) Edited from the Old Editions and Numerous Manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #48688; 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 Donne, Elegie on the L. C, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/elegie-on-the-l-c.html, id L19924.
Form and metre
Elegie on the L. C is 25 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 79%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% 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 -AABBCCDD--EEFFGGHHIIDD-- way · usA · thusA · deserveB · serveB · beforeC · storeC · treeD · beeD · sacrifice · rise · familieE · discoverieE · dareF · shareF · nowG · allowG · grewH · knewH · begetI · yetI · beeD · heD · gone · stone
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sorrow, who to this house scarce knew the way: | 10 | /˘········ |
| This strange chance claimes strange wonder, and to us | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Nothing can be so strange, as to weepe thus. | 10 | /˘········ |
| 'Tis well his lifes loud speaking workes deserve, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| And give praise too, our cold tongues could not serve: | 10 | ····/····· |
| 'Tis well, hee kept teares from our eyes before, | 10 | ······/··· |
| That to fit this deepe ill, we might have store. | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, if a sweet briar, climbe up by'a tree, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| If to a paradise that transplanted bee, | 11 | ···/˘··˘/˘· |
| Or fell'd, and burnt for holy sacrifice, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Yet, that must wither, which by it did rise, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As we for him dead: though no familie | 10 | ·········· |
| Ere rigg'd a soule for heavens discoverie | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| With whom more Venturers more boldly dare | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Venture their states, with him in joy to share. | 10 | /˘········ |
| Wee lose what all friends lov'd, him; he gaines now | 10 | ·········· |
| But life by death, which worst foes would allow, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| If hee could have foes, in whose practise grew | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| All vertues, whose names subtile Schoolmen knew. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What ease, can hope that wee shall see'him, beget, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| When wee must die first, and cannot dye yet? | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| His children are his pictures, Oh they bee | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Pictures of him dead, senselesse, cold as he. | 11 | /˘········· |
| Here needs no marble Tombe, since hee is gone, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He, and about him, his, are turn'd to stone. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 8
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Line 1 who 1633-39: that 1650-69
- Line 3 thus. 1669: thus; 1633-54
- Line 6 of him ... sacrifice. 1635-69: of you nor of him, we will smother it, and be it your sacrifice. 1633: of him, nor of you, nor of anye; smother it, and bee that the sacrifice. A18, TCC
- Line 12 dead: 1633-69: dead. HN, Grolier
- Line 15 Venture their states] Venter estates B
- Line 16 him;] him, 1633
- Line 19 names] name 1635-69
- Line 24 he. 1650-69: he, 1633-39
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