A King’s Soliloquy on the Night of His Funeral
FROM the slow march and muffled drumAnd crowds distrest,And book and bell, at length I have comeTo my full rest.
A ten years’ rule beneath the sunIs wound up here,And what I have done, what left undone,Figures out clear.
Yet in the estimate of suchIt grieves me moreThat I by some was loved so muchThan that I bore,
From others, judgment of that hueWhich over-hopeBreeds from a theoretic viewOf regal scope.
For kingly opportunitiesRight many have sighed;How best to bear its devilriesThose learn who have tried!
I have eaten the fat and drunk the sweet,Lived the life outFrom the first greeting glad drum-beatTo the last shout.
What pleasure earth affords to kingsI have enjoyedThrough its long vivid pulse-stirringsEven till it cloyed.
What days of drudgery, nights of stressCan cark a throne,Even one maintained in peacefulness,I too have known.
And so, I think, could I step backTo life again,I should prefer the average trackOf average men,
Since, as with them, what kingship wouldIt cannot do,Nor to first thoughts however goodHold itself true.
Something binds hard the royal hand,As all that be,And it is That has shaped, has plannedMy acts and me.
Words in this poem
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- theoretic a.
- Pertaining to theory; depending on, or confined to, theory or speculation; speculative; terminating in theory or speculation: not practical; as, theoretical learning; theoretic sciences. [Gr. theoreticus, F. théorétique.]
- drudgery n.
- The act of drudging; disagreeable and wearisome labor; ignoble or slavish toil.
- cark n.
- A noxious or corroding care; solicitude; worry. [OE. cark, fr. a dialectic form of F. charge; cf. W. carc anxiety, care, Arm karg charge, burden. See Charge, and cf. Cargo.]
- kingship n.
- The state, office, or dignity of a king; royalty. Landor.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A King’s Soliloquy on the Night of His Funeral is in the public domain. This text is taken from Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries, with Miscellaneous Pieces, Project Gutenberg ebook #2863; 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, A King’s Soliloquy on the Night of His Funeral, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/a-king-s-soliloquy-on-the-night-of-his-funeral.html, id L24069.
Form and metre
A King’s Soliloquy on the Night of His Funeral is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 drumA · distrestB · comeA · restB
- 2 ABAB sunA · hereB · undoneA · clearB
- 3 ABAB suchA · moreB · muchA · boreB
- 4 ABAB hueA · hopeB · viewA · scopeB
- 5 ABAB opportunitiesA · sighedB · devilriesA · triedB
- 6 ABAB sweetA · outB · beatA · shoutB
- 7 ABAB kingsA · enjoyedB · stirringsA · cloyedB
- 8 ABAB stressA · throneB · peacefulnessA · knownB
- 9 ABAB backA · againB · trackA · menB
- 10 ABAB wouldA · doB · goodA · trueB
- 11 ABAB handA · beB · plannedA · meB
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| FROM the slow march and muffled drum | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And crowds distrest, | 4 | ···· |
| And book and bell, at length I have come | 9 | ········· |
| To my full rest. | 4 | ···· |
| A ten years’ rule beneath the sun | 8 | ········ |
| Is wound up here, | 4 | ···· |
| And what I have done, what left undone, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Figures out clear. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Yet in the estimate of such | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It grieves me more | 4 | ···· |
| That I by some was loved so much | 8 | ········ |
| Than that I bore, | 4 | ···· |
| From others, judgment of that hue | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Which over-hope | 4 | ···· |
| Breeds from a theoretic view | 7 | ······· |
| Of regal scope. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| For kingly opportunities | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Right many have sighed; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| How best to bear its devilries | 7 | ······· |
| Those learn who have tried! | 5 | ····· |
| I have eaten the fat and drunk the sweet, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Lived the life out | 4 | ···· |
| From the first greeting glad drum-beat | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To the last shout. | 4 | ···· |
| What pleasure earth affords to kings | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| I have enjoyed | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Through its long vivid pulse-stirrings | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Even till it cloyed. | 5 | /˘··· |
| What days of drudgery, nights of stress | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Can cark a throne, | 4 | ···· |
| Even one maintained in peacefulness, | 9 | /˘·˘/·/˘˘ |
| I too have known. | 4 | ···· |
| And so, I think, could I step back | 8 | ········ |
| To life again, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| I should prefer the average track | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Of average men, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Since, as with them, what kingship would | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It cannot do, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Nor to first thoughts however good | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Hold itself true. | 4 | ·˘/· |
| Something binds hard the royal hand, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| As all that be, | 4 | ···· |
| And it is That has shaped, has planned | 8 | ········ |
| My acts and me. | 4 | ···· |
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.