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 Mis’ry all he had, a tear:He gain’d from Heav’n (’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 Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Epitaph, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-epitaph.html, id L25327.
Form and metre
The Epitaph is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABAB discloseA · abodeB · reposeA · godB
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 Mis’ry all he had, a tear: | 10 | ·········· |
| He gain’d from Heav’n (’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.