The Epitaph
Here rests his head upon the lap of EarthA youth, to Fortune and to Fame unknown;Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,Heaven did a recompense as largely send;He gave to Misery all he had, a tear;He gain'd from Heaven ('twas all he wish'd) a friend.
No farther seek his merits to disclose,Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,(There they alike in trembling hope repose)The bosom of his Father and his God.
Words in this poem
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Epitaph is in the public domain. This text is taken from Select Poems of Thomas Gray, Project Gutenberg ebook #30357; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Gray, The Epitaph, in Poems (1751), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #30357, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gray-poems/the-epitaph.html, id L06457.
Form and metre
The Epitaph is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 8% 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 ABAB earthA · unknownB · birthA · ownB
- 2 ABAB sincereA · sendB · tearA · friendB
- 3 A-A- discloseA · abode · reposeA · god
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth | 10 | ·········· |
| A youth, to Fortune and to Fame unknown; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And Melancholy mark'd him for her own. | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Heaven did a recompense as largely send; | 10 | /··/˘··/˘· |
| He gave to Misery all he had, a tear; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He gain'd from Heaven ('twas all he wish'd) a friend. | 10 | ···/······ |
| No farther seek his merits to disclose, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Or draw his frailties from their dread abode, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| (There they alike in trembling hope repose) | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| The bosom of his Father and his God. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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.