Coquetry in Death
I beg ye grant, when low I lie,Before ye close my coffin-bed,A little black beneath mine eye,And on my cheek a touch of red!
Ah, make me beautiful as now!For I would be upon my bier,As on the night of his avowCharming and bloomful, gay and dear.
For me no linen winding-sheet!But gown me very grand and bright.Bring forth my frock of muslin sweet,With many ruffles soft and white.
My favourite frock! I wore it well,Who wore it at love's flowering.And since his look upon it fell,I've kept it as a sacred thing.
For me no funeral coronet,No tear-embroidered cushion place;But o 'er my fair lace pillow letMy hair droop free about my face.
Dear pillow! Often did it mark,In mad, sweet nights our brows unlit,And, all within the gondola dark,Did count our kisses infinite.
About my waxen hands supine,Folded in prayer at life's deep gloam,My rosary of opals twine,Blessed by His Holiness at Rome.
I'll finger it, when bedded coldWhere never one shall rise. How oftHis lips upon my lips have toldA Pater and an Ave soft!
Words in this poem
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- avow v. t.
- To bind, or to devote, by a vow. Wyclif. [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.]
- supine a.
- Lying on the back, or with the face upward; -- opposed to prone. [L. supinus, akin to sub under, super above. Cf. Sub-, Super-.]
- gloam v. i.
- To begin to grow dark; to grow dusky. [See Gloom, Glum.]
- rosary n.
- A bed of roses, or place where roses grow. [LL. rosarium a string of beads, L. rosarium a place planted with roses, rosa a rose: cf. F. rosaire. See Rose.]
- bedded a.
- Provided with a bed; as, double-bedded room; placed or arranged in a bed or beds.
- 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
Coquetry in Death is in the public domain. This text is taken from Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, the Agnes Lee translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Théophile Gautier, Coquetry in Death, in Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gautier-enamels-cameos/coquetry-in-death.html, id L26994.
Form and metre
Coquetry in Death is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See 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 ABAB lieA · bedB · eyeA · redB
- 2 ABAB nowA · bierB · avowA · dearB
- 3 ABAB sheetA · brightB · sweetA · whiteB
- 4 ABAB wellA · floweringB · fellA · thingB
- 5 ABAB coronetA · placeB · letA · faceB
- 6 ABAB markA · unlitB · darkA · infiniteB
- 7 ABAB supineA · gloamB · twineA · romeB
- 8 ABAB coldA · oftB · toldA · softB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I beg ye grant, when low I lie, | 8 | ········ |
| Before ye close my coffin-bed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A little black beneath mine eye, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And on my cheek a touch of red! | 8 | ········ |
| Ah, make me beautiful as now! | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| For I would be upon my bier, | 8 | ········ |
| As on the night of his avow | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Charming and bloomful, gay and dear. | 8 | /˘······ |
| For me no linen winding-sheet! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But gown me very grand and bright. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Bring forth my frock of muslin sweet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With many ruffles soft and white. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| My favourite frock! I wore it well, | 9 | ········· |
| Who wore it at love's flowering. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And since his look upon it fell, | 8 | ········ |
| I've kept it as a sacred thing. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For me no funeral coronet, | 8 | ···/˘/˘/ |
| No tear-embroidered cushion place; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| But o 'er my fair lace pillow let | 9 | ······/˘· |
| My hair droop free about my face. | 8 | ········ |
| Dear pillow! Often did it mark, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In mad, sweet nights our brows unlit, | 8 | ····/··· |
| And, all within the gondola dark, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Did count our kisses infinite. | 9 | ··/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| About my waxen hands supine, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Folded in prayer at life's deep gloam, | 8 | /˘······ |
| My rosary of opals twine, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Blessed by His Holiness at Rome. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| I'll finger it, when bedded cold | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where never one shall rise. How oft | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His lips upon my lips have told | 8 | ········ |
| A Pater and an Ave soft! | 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.