The Choirmaster’s Burial
HE often would ask usThat, when he died,After playing so manyTo their last rest,If out of us anyShould here abide,And it would not task us,We would with our lutesPlay over himBy his grave-brimThe psalm he liked best—The one whose sense suits“Mount Ephraim”—And perhaps we should seemTo him, in Death’s dream,Like the seraphim.
As soon as I knewThat his spirit was goneI thought this his due,And spoke thereupon.“I think,” said the vicar,“A read service quickerThan viols out-of-doorsIn these frosts and hoars.That old-fashioned wayRequires a fine day,And it seems to meIt had better not be.”
Hence, that afternoon,Though never knew heThat his wish could not be,To get through it fasterThey buried the masterWithout any tune.
But ’twas said that, whenAt the dead of next nightThe vicar looked out,There struck on his kenThronged roundabout,Where the frost was grayingThe headstoned grass,A band all in whiteLike the saints in church-glass,Singing and playingThe ancient staveBy the choirmaster’s grave.
Such the tenor man toldWhen he had grown old.
Words in this poem
- ephraim n.
- A hunter's name for the grizzly bear. [The proper name.]
- seraphim n.
- The Hebrew plural of Seraph. Cf. Cherubim.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- thereupon adv.
- Upon that or this; thereon.
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Choirmaster’s Burial is in the public domain. This text is taken from Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3255; 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 Hardy, The Choirmaster’s Burial, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/the-choirmaster-s-burial.html, id L24229.
Form and metre
The Choirmaster’s Burial is 48 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABCDCBAEFFDEFGGG usA · diedB · manyC · restD · anyC · abideB · usA · lutesE · himF · brimF · bestD · suitsE · ephraimF · seemG · dreamG · seraphimG
- 2 A-A-BBCCDDEE knewA · gone · dueA · thereupon · vicarB · quickerB · doorsC · hoarsC · wayD · dayD · meE · beE
- 3 ABBCCA afternoonA · heB · beB · fasterC · masterC · tuneA
- 4 ABCACDEBEDFF whenA · nightB · outC · kenA · roundaboutC · grayingD · grassE · whiteB · glassE · playingD · staveF · graveF
- 5 AA toldA · oldA
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| HE often would ask us | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That, when he died, | 4 | ···· |
| After playing so many | 6 | ··/˘·/ |
| To their last rest, | 4 | ···· |
| If out of us any | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Should here abide, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| And it would not task us, | 6 | ······ |
| We would with our lutes | 5 | ···/· |
| Play over him | 4 | ···· |
| By his grave-brim | 4 | ···· |
| The psalm he liked best— | 5 | ····· |
| The one whose sense suits | 5 | ····· |
| “Mount Ephraim”— | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And perhaps we should seem | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| To him, in Death’s dream, | 5 | ····· |
| Like the seraphim. | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| As soon as I knew | 5 | ····· |
| That his spirit was gone | 5 | ··/·· |
| I thought this his due, | 5 | ····· |
| And spoke thereupon. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| “I think,” said the vicar, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| “A read service quicker | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Than viols out-of-doors | 5 | ····· |
| In these frosts and hoars. | 5 | ····· |
| That old-fashioned way | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Requires a fine day, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| And it seems to me | 5 | ····· |
| It had better not be.” | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Hence, that afternoon, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Though never knew he | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| That his wish could not be, | 6 | ······ |
| To get through it faster | 6 | ····/˘ |
| They buried the master | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Without any tune. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| But ’twas said that, when | 5 | ····· |
| At the dead of next night | 6 | ······ |
| The vicar looked out, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| There struck on his ken | 5 | ····· |
| Thronged roundabout, | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| Where the frost was graying | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The headstoned grass, | 5 | ·/·˘· |
| A band all in white | 5 | ····· |
| Like the saints in church-glass, | 6 | ······ |
| Singing and playing | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The ancient stave | 4 | ·/˘· |
| By the choirmaster’s grave. | 6 | ······ |
| Such the tenor man told | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| When he had grown old. | 5 | ····· |
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.