An Epitaph
Enough; and leave the rest to Fame!’Tis to commend her, but to name.Courtship which, living, she declined,When dead, to offer were unkind:Nor can the truest wit, or friend,Without detracting, her commend.
To say--she lived a virgin chasteIn this age loose and all unlaced;Nor was, when vice is so allowed,Of virtue or ashamed or proud;That her soul was on Heaven so bent,No minute but it came and went;That, ready her last debt to pay,She summ’d her life up every day;Modest as morn, as mid-day bright,Gentle as evening, cool as night:--’Tis true; but all too weakly said.’Twas more significant, she’s dead.
Words in this poem
- courtship n.
- The act of paying court, with the intent to solicit a favor.
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Epitaph is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Andrew Marvell, An Epitaph, in Poems (1621–1678), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-andrew-marvell/an-epitaph.html, id L16109.
Form and metre
An Epitaph is 18 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 6% 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 fameA · nameA · declinedB · unkindB · friendC · commendC
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFF chasteA · unlacedA · allowedB · proudB · bentC · wentC · payD · dayD · brightE · nightE · saidF · deadF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enough; and leave the rest to Fame! | 8 | ˘/······ |
| ’Tis to commend her, but to name. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Courtship which, living, she declined, | 8 | /··/˘·˘/ |
| When dead, to offer were unkind: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Nor can the truest wit, or friend, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Without detracting, her commend. | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| To say--she lived a virgin chaste | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In this age loose and all unlaced; | 8 | ········ |
| Nor was, when vice is so allowed, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of virtue or ashamed or proud; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| That her soul was on Heaven so bent, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| No minute but it came and went; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That, ready her last debt to pay, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She summ’d her life up every day; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Modest as morn, as mid-day bright, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Gentle as evening, cool as night: | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| --’Tis true; but all too weakly said. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ’Twas more significant, she’s dead. | 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.