In Westminster Abbey, 1732
Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild;In Wit, a Man; Simplicity, a Child:With native Humour temp'ring virtuous Rage,Form'd to delight at once and lash the age:Above Temptation, in a low Estate,And uncorrupted, ev'n among the Great:A safe Companion, and an easy Friend,Unblam'd thro' Life, lamented in thy End.These are Thy Honours! not that here thy BustIs mix'd with Heroes, or with Kings thy dust;But that the Worthy and the Good shall say,Striking their pensive bosoms--Here lies GAY.
Words in this poem
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- lamented a.
- Mourned for; bewailed.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Westminster Abbey, 1732 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #9800; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alexander Pope, In Westminster Abbey, 1732, in The Rape of the Lock (1712), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9800, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pope-rape-of-the-lock/in-westminster-abbey-1732.html, id L03479.
Form and metre
In Westminster Abbey, 1732 is 12 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, 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 10.0 syllables. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFF mildA · childA · rageB · ageB · estateC · greatC · friendD · endD · bustE · dustE · sayF · gayF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild; | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| In Wit, a Man; Simplicity, a Child: | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| With native Humour temp'ring virtuous Rage, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Form'd to delight at once and lash the age: | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Above Temptation, in a low Estate, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| And uncorrupted, ev'n among the Great: | 10 | ·········· |
| A safe Companion, and an easy Friend, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Unblam'd thro' Life, lamented in thy End. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| These are Thy Honours! not that here thy Bust | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Is mix'd with Heroes, or with Kings thy dust; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But that the Worthy and the Good shall say, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Striking their pensive bosoms--Here lies GAY. | 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.