The Funerall
Who ever comes to shroud me, do not harmeNor question muchThat subtile wreath of haire, which crowns my arme;The mystery, the signe you must not touch,For 'tis my outward Soule,Viceroy to that, which then to heaven being gone,Will leave this to controule,And keepe these limbes, her Provinces, from dissolution.
For if the sinewie thread my braine lets fallThrough every part,Can tye those parts, and make mee one of all;These haires which upward grew, and strength and artHave from a better braine,Can better do'it; Except she meant that IBy this should know my pain,As prisoners then are manacled, when they'are condemn'd to die.
What ere shee meant by'it, bury it with me,For since I amLoves martyr, it might breed idolatrie,If into others hands these Reliques came;As'twas humilityTo afford to it all that a Soule can doe,So,'tis some bravery,That since you would save none of mee, I bury some of you.
About this text
The Funerall 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, The Funerall, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-funerall.html, id L04902.
Form and metre
The Funerall is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 ABABCDCD harmeA · muchB · armeA · touchB · souleC · goneD · controuleC · dissolutionD
- 2 ABABCDCD fallA · partB · allA · artB · braineC · iD · painC · dieD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Who ever comes to shroud me, do not harme | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Nor question much | 4 | ·/˘· |
| That subtile wreath of haire, which crowns my arme; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The mystery, the signe you must not touch, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| For 'tis my outward Soule, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Viceroy to that, which then to heaven being gone, | 10 | /˘·····//· |
| Will leave this to controule, | 7 | ······· |
| And keepe these limbes, her Provinces, from dissolution. | 12 | ·····/˘··˘/˘ |
| For if the sinewie thread my braine lets fall | 11 | ··········· |
| Through every part, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Can tye those parts, and make mee one of all; | 10 | ·········· |
| These haires which upward grew, and strength and art | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Have from a better braine, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Can better do'it; Except she meant that I | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| By this should know my pain, | 6 | ······ |
| As prisoners then are manacled, when they'are condemn'd to die. | 13 | ·/˘······˘/·· |
| What ere shee meant by'it, bury it with me, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For since I am | 4 | ···· |
| Loves martyr, it might breed idolatrie, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| If into others hands these Reliques came; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As'twas humility | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| To afford to it all that a Soule can doe, | 11 | ·˘/········ |
| So,'tis some bravery, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| That since you would save none of mee, I bury some of you. | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 6
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Stanza 1, line 3 which ... arme;] about mine arm; 1669
- Stanza 1, line 6 then to A18, B, Cy, D, H49, L74, Lec, N, O'F, P, S, S96, TC: unto 1633-69
- Stanza 2, line 4 These A18, B, Cy, D, H49, L74, N, S (The), S96, TC: Those 1633-69, Lec, O'F grew, 1633-39: grow, 1650-69
- Stanza 2, line 8 condemn'd] condem'nd 1633
- Stanza 3, line 1 with me, 1635-69 and MSS.: by me, 1633
- Stanza 3, line 8 save A18, B, Cy, D, H49, L74, N, P, TC: have 1633-69, Lec, O'F, S96: om. S
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