To the praise of the dead,
Well dy'd the World, that we might live to seeThis world of wit, in his Anatomie:No evill wants his good; so wilder heiresBedew their Fathers Tombes, with forced teares,Whose state requites their losse: whiles thus we gain,Well may wee walke in blacks, but not complaine.Yet how can I consent the world is deadWhile this Muse lives? which in his spirits steadSeemes to informe a World; and bids it bee,In spight of losse or fraile mortalitie?And thou the subject of this welborne thought,Thrice noble maid, couldst not have found nor soughtA fitter time to yeeld to thy sad Fate,Then whiles this spirit lives, that can relateThy worth so well to our last Nephews eyne,That they shall wonder both at his and thine:Admired match! where strives in mutuall graceThe cunning pencill, and the comely face:A taske which thy faire goodnesse made too muchFor the bold pride of vulgar pens to touch;Enough is us to praise them that praise thee,And say, that but enough those prayses bee,Which hadst thou liv'd, had hid their fearfull headFrom th'angry checkings of thy modest red:Death barres reward and shame: when envy's gone,And gaine, 'tis safe to give the dead their owne.As then the wise Egyptians wont to layMore on their Tombes, then houses: these of clay,But those of brasse, or marble were: so weeGive more unto thy Ghost, then unto thee.Yet what wee give to thee, thou gav'st to us,And may'st but thanke thy selfe, for being thus:Yet what thou gav'st, and wert, O happy maid,Thy grace profest all due, where 'tis repayd.So these high songs that to thee suited binServe but to sound thy Makers praise, in thine,Which thy deare soule as sweetly sings to himAmid the Quire of Saints, and Seraphim,As any Angels tongue can sing of thee;The subjects differ, though the skill agree:For as by infant-yeares men judge of age,Thy early love, thy vertues, did presageWhat an high part thou bear'st in those best songs,Whereto no burden, nor no end belongs.Sing on thou virgin Soule, whose lossfull gaineThy lovesick parents have bewail'd in vaine;Never may thy Name be in our songs forgot,Till wee shall sing thy ditty and thy note.
Words in this poem 21
- bedew v. t.
- To moisten with dew, or as with dew.
- losse n.
- Praise. See Loos.
- whiles conj.
- During the time that; while. Chaucer. Fuller.
- blacks n.
- The name of a kind of in used in copperplate printing, prepared from the charred husks of the grape, and residue of the wine press.
- spight n.
- A woodpecker. See Speight.
- fitter n.
- A little piece; a flitter; a flinder.
- eyne n.
- Plural of eye; obsolete, or used only in poetry.
- 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,]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- mutuall a.
- Reciprocally acting or related; reciprocally receiving and giving; reciprocally given and received; reciprocal; interchanged; as, a mutual love, advantage, assistance, aversion, etc. [F. mutuel, L. mutuus, orig., exchanged, borrowed, lent; akin to mutare to change. See Mutable.]
- pencill n.
- A small, fine brush of hair or bristles used by painters for laying on colors. [OF. pincel, F. pinceau, L. penicillum, penicillus, equiv. to peniculus, dim. of penis a tail. Cf. Penicil.]
- fearfull a.
- Full of fera, apprehension, or alarm; afraid; frightened.
- brasse n.
- A spotted European fish of the genus Lucioperca, resembling a perch. [Perh. a transposition of barse; but cf. LG. brasse the bream, G. brassen Cf. Bream.]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- quire v. i.
- To sing in concert.
- seraphim n.
- The Hebrew plural of Seraph. Cf. Cherubim.
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- lossfull a.
- Detrimental. Bp. Hall.
- ditty n.
- A saying or utterance; especially, one that is short and frequently repeated; a theme. [OE. dite, OF. ditié, fr. L. dictatum, p. p. neut. of dictare to say often, dictate, compose. See Dictate, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the praise of the dead, 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, To the praise of the dead,, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-the-praise-of-the-dead.html, id L19919.
Form and metre
To the praise of the dead, is 48 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXX seeA · anatomieA · heiresB · tearesB · gainC · complaineC · deadD · steadD · beeE · mortalitieE · thoughtF · soughtF · fateG · relateG · eyneH · thineH · graceI · faceI · muchJ · touchJ · theeK · beeK · headL · redL · goneM · owneM · layN · clayN · weeO · theeO · usP · thusP · maidQ · repaydQ · binR · thineR · himS · seraphimS · theeT · agreeT · ageU · presageU · songsV · belongsV · gaineW · vaineW · forgotX · noteX
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Well dy'd the World, that we might live to see | 10 | ·········· |
| This world of wit, in his Anatomie: | 10 | ·········· |
| No evill wants his good; so wilder heires | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Bedew their Fathers Tombes, with forced teares, | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘· |
| Whose state requites their losse: whiles thus we gain, | 10 | ·········· |
| Well may wee walke in blacks, but not complaine. | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet how can I consent the world is dead | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| While this Muse lives? which in his spirits stead | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Seemes to informe a World; and bids it bee, | 10 | ·········· |
| In spight of losse or fraile mortalitie? | 11 | ··········· |
| And thou the subject of this welborne thought, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thrice noble maid, couldst not have found nor sought | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A fitter time to yeeld to thy sad Fate, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Then whiles this spirit lives, that can relate | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Thy worth so well to our last Nephews eyne, | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| That they shall wonder both at his and thine: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Admired match! where strives in mutuall grace | 10 | ˘/····/˘˘· |
| The cunning pencill, and the comely face: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| A taske which thy faire goodnesse made too much | 10 | ·········· |
| For the bold pride of vulgar pens to touch; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Enough is us to praise them that praise thee, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| And say, that but enough those prayses bee, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Which hadst thou liv'd, had hid their fearfull head | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From th'angry checkings of thy modest red: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Death barres reward and shame: when envy's gone, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And gaine, 'tis safe to give the dead their owne. | 10 | ·········· |
| As then the wise Egyptians wont to lay | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| More on their Tombes, then houses: these of clay, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But those of brasse, or marble were: so wee | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Give more unto thy Ghost, then unto thee. | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet what wee give to thee, thou gav'st to us, | 10 | ·········· |
| And may'st but thanke thy selfe, for being thus: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Yet what thou gav'st, and wert, O happy maid, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thy grace profest all due, where 'tis repayd. | 10 | ·········· |
| So these high songs that to thee suited bin | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Serve but to sound thy Makers praise, in thine, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which thy deare soule as sweetly sings to him | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Amid the Quire of Saints, and Seraphim, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘˘ |
| As any Angels tongue can sing of thee; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| The subjects differ, though the skill agree: | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| For as by infant-yeares men judge of age, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy early love, thy vertues, did presage | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| What an high part thou bear'st in those best songs, | 10 | ·········· |
| Whereto no burden, nor no end belongs. | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Sing on thou virgin Soule, whose lossfull gaine | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy lovesick parents have bewail'd in vaine; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Never may thy Name be in our songs forgot, | 10 | /·····/·˘/ |
| Till wee shall sing thy ditty and thy note. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 11
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 8 While] Whiles 1639-69
- Line 21 is] it is 1699
- Line 25 shame: 1611, 1612-25: shame, 1633-69
- Line 26 gaine, 1633-69: gaine; 1612-25
- Line 34 where] were 1621-25
- Line 35 bin 1633-39: bine 1611: bine, 1612-21: bine. 1625: bin, 1650-69
- Line 36 praise, in thine, 1611, 1612-25: praise and thine, 1633-69
- Line 38 Quire 1611, 1612-25: quire 1633-69
- Line 39 tongue 1611, 1612-39: tongues 1650-69
- Line 41 infant-yeares 1611, 1621-25: infant yeares 1633-69
- Line 43 What an hie ... best songs, 1611-12: What hie ... best songs 1621-25: What high ... best of songs, 1633-69
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