The Tomb
When, cruel fair one, I am slainBy thy disdain,And as a trophy of thy scornTo some old tomb am borne,Thy fetters must their power bequeathTo those of Death;Nor can thy flame immortal burnLike monumental fires within an urn.Thus freed from thy proud empire, I shall proveThere is more liberty in Death than Love.
And when forsaken lovers comeTo see my tomb,Take heed thou mix not with the crowd,And, as a victor, proudTo view the spoils thy beauty made,Press near my shade!Lest thy too cruel breath, or name,Should fan my ashes back into a flame.And thou, devour'd by this revengeful fire, }His sacrifice, who died as thine, expire. }
Or should my dust thy pity moveThat could not, love,Thy sighs might wake me, and thy tearsRenew my life and years;Or should thy proud insulting scornLaugh at my urn,Kindly deceiv'd by thy disdain,I might be smil'd into new life again.Then come not near: since both thy love and hateHave equal power to kill[39:2] or animate.
But if cold earth or marble mustConceal my dust,Whilst, hid in some dark ruins, IDumb and forgotten lie,The pride of all thy victoryWill sleep with me;And they who should attest thy gloryWill or forget, or not believe this story.Then, to increase thy triumph, let me rest,(Since by thine eye slain,) buried in thy breast!
Words in this poem
- trophy n.
- A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people. [F. trophée (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. Trope.]
- bequeath v. t.
- To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe to say, speak. See Quoth.]
- monumental a.
- Of, pertaining to, or suitable for, a monument; as, a monumental inscription. [L. monumentalis: cf. F. monumental.]
- 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,]
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Tomb is in the public domain. This text is taken from Thomas Stanley: His Original Lyrics, Complete, In Their Collated Readings of 1647, 1651, 1657. With an Introduction, Textual Notes, a List of Editions, an Appendix of Translations, and a Portrait., Project Gutenberg ebook #32986; 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 Stanley, The Tomb, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-tomb.html, id L08968.
Form and metre
The Tomb is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines. 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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 AABB--CCDD slainA · disdainA · scornB · borneB · bequeath · death · burnC · urnC · proveD · loveD
- 2 --AABBCCDD come · tomb · crowdA · proudA · madeB · shadeB · nameC · flameC · — · —
- 3 AABB--CCDD moveA · loveA · tearsB · yearsB · scorn · urn · disdainC · againC · hateD · animateD
- 4 AABB-BCCDD mustA · dustA · iB · lieB · victory · meB · gloryC · storyC · restD · breastD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When, cruel fair one, I am slain | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| By thy disdain, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| And as a trophy of thy scorn | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To some old tomb am borne, | 6 | ······ |
| Thy fetters must their power bequeath | 8 | ·/˘··/˘/ |
| To those of Death; | 4 | ···· |
| Nor can thy flame immortal burn | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Like monumental fires within an urn. | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Thus freed from thy proud empire, I shall prove | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| There is more liberty in Death than Love. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And when forsaken lovers come | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| To see my tomb, | 4 | ···· |
| Take heed thou mix not with the crowd, | 8 | ········ |
| And, as a victor, proud | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To view the spoils thy beauty made, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Press near my shade! | 4 | ···· |
| Lest thy too cruel breath, or name, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Should fan my ashes back into a flame. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And thou, devour'd by this revengeful fire, } | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘/ |
| His sacrifice, who died as thine, expire. } | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Or should my dust thy pity move | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That could not, love, | 4 | ···· |
| Thy sighs might wake me, and thy tears | 8 | ········ |
| Renew my life and years; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Or should thy proud insulting scorn | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Laugh at my urn, | 4 | ···· |
| Kindly deceiv'd by thy disdain, | 8 | /˘˘/··˘/ |
| I might be smil'd into new life again. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Then come not near: since both thy love and hate | 10 | ·········· |
| Have equal power to kill[39:2] or animate. | 9 | ·/˘/···/˘ |
| But if cold earth or marble must | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Conceal my dust, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Whilst, hid in some dark ruins, I | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Dumb and forgotten lie, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| The pride of all thy victory | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Will sleep with me; | 4 | ···· |
| And they who should attest thy glory | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| Will or forget, or not believe this story. | 11 | ··˘/··˘/·/˘ |
| Then, to increase thy triumph, let me rest, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| (Since by thine eye slain,) buried in thy breast! | 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.