The Same
By Death, alas, here Conquer'd lies,She who from All late bore the PrizeIn Beauty, Wit, Vertue Divine:In whom those Graces did combine,Which we admir'd in others see,When they but singly scatter'd be!
Who her, so Great, can paint beside,The Pencil her own Hand did guide?What Verse can celebrate her Fame,But such as She herself did frame?
Though much Excellence she did show,And many Qualities did know,Yet this, alone, she could not tell,To wit, How much she did excel.Or if her Worth she rightly knew,More to her Modesty was due,That Parts in her no Pride could raise }Desirous still to merit Praise, }But fled, as she deserv'd, the Bays. }Contented always to retire,Court Glory she did not admire;Although it lay so neer and faire,It's Grace to none more open were:But with the World how should she close,Who Christ in her first Childhood chose?
So with her Parents she did live,That they to Her did Honour give,As she to them. In a Num'rous RaceAnd Vertuous, the highest PlaceNone envy'd her: Sisters, BrothersHer Admirers were and Lovers:She was to all s'obliging sweet,All in One Love to her did meet.A Virgin-Life not only led,But it's Example might be said.The Ages Ornament, the NameThat gave her Sex and Country Fame.
Those who her Person never knew,Will hardly think these things are true:But those that did, will More believe,And higher things of her conceive.
Thy Eyes in tears now, Reader, steep:For Her if't lawful be to weep,Whose blessed and Seraphique EndAngels in Triumph did attend.
Words in this poem
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- vertuous a.
- Virtuous; powerful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Same is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems (1686), Project Gutenberg ebook #41076; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anne Killigrew, The Same, in Poems (1686) (1686), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #41076, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/killigrew-poems/the-same.html, id L09188.
Form and metre
The Same is 45 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCC liesA · prizeA · divineB · combineB · seeC · beC
- 2 AABB besideA · guideA · fameB · frameB
- 3 AABBCCDDDEE--FF showA · knowA · tellB · excelB · knewC · dueC · — · — · — · retireE · admireE · faire · were · closeF · choseF
- 4 AABB--CCDDEE liveA · giveA · raceB · placeB · brothers · lovers · sweetC · meetC · ledD · saidD · nameE · fameE
- 5 AABB knewA · trueA · believeB · conceiveB
- 6 AABB steepA · weepA · endB · attendB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| By Death, alas, here Conquer'd lies, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| She who from All late bore the Prize | 8 | ········ |
| In Beauty, Wit, Vertue Divine: | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| In whom those Graces did combine, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Which we admir'd in others see, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| When they but singly scatter'd be! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Who her, so Great, can paint beside, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The Pencil her own Hand did guide? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| What Verse can celebrate her Fame, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But such as She herself did frame? | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Though much Excellence she did show, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| And many Qualities did know, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Yet this, alone, she could not tell, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| To wit, How much she did excel. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Or if her Worth she rightly knew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| More to her Modesty was due, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| That Parts in her no Pride could raise } | 8 | ········ |
| Desirous still to merit Praise, } | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| But fled, as she deserv'd, the Bays. } | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Contented always to retire, | 8 | ˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Court Glory she did not admire; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Although it lay so neer and faire, | 8 | ········ |
| It's Grace to none more open were: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But with the World how should she close, | 8 | ········ |
| Who Christ in her first Childhood chose? | 8 | ·····/·· |
| So with her Parents she did live, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That they to Her did Honour give, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As she to them. In a Num'rous Race | 9 | ········· |
| And Vertuous, the highest Place | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| None envy'd her: Sisters, Brothers | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Her Admirers were and Lovers: | 8 | ·˘/˘··/˘ |
| She was to all s'obliging sweet, | 8 | ········ |
| All in One Love to her did meet. | 8 | ········ |
| A Virgin-Life not only led, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But it's Example might be said. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The Ages Ornament, the Name | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| That gave her Sex and Country Fame. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Those who her Person never knew, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Will hardly think these things are true: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But those that did, will More believe, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And higher things of her conceive. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Thy Eyes in tears now, Reader, steep: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For Her if't lawful be to weep, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose blessed and Seraphique End | 7 | ······· |
| Angels in Triumph did attend. | 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.