Death Takes All
Hear, O thou earth, hear, thou encircling sea,Yea, all that live beneath the sun, hear yeHow of this world the bravery and the gloryAre but vain forms and shadows transitory,Even as all things 'neath Time's empire showBy their short durance and swift overthrow!Nothing avails the dignity of kings,Naught, naught avail the strength and stuff of things;The wisdom of the arts no succour brings;Genus and species help not at death's hour,No man was saved by gold in that dread stour;The substance of things fadeth as a flower,As ice 'neath sunshine melts into a shower.Where is Plato, where is Porphyrius?Where is Tullius, where is Virgilius?Where is Thales, where is Empedocles,Or illustrious Aristoteles?Where's Alexander, peerless of might?Where is Hector, Troy's stoutest knight?Where is King David, learning's light?Solomon where, that wisest wight?Where is Helen, and Paris rose-bright?They have fallen to the bottom, as a stone rolls:Who knows if rest be granted to their souls?But Thou, O God, of faithful men the Lord,To us Thy favour evermore affordWhen on the wicked judgment shall be poured!
Words in this poem
- durance n.
- Continuance; duration. See Endurance. [OF. durance duration, fr. L. durans, -antis, p. pr. durare to endure, last. See Dure, and cf. Durant.]
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- stour n.
- A battle or tumult; encounter; combat; disturbance; passion. [OF. estour, estor, tumult, combat, of Teutonic origin. See Storm.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- 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
Death Takes All is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, Death Takes All, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/death-takes-all.html, id L11865.
Form and metre
Death Takes All is 27 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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 AABBCCDDDEEEEFFGGHHHHHIIJJJ seaA · yeA · gloryB · transitoryB · showC · overthrowC · kingsD · thingsD · bringsD · hourE · stourE · flowerE · showerE · porphyriusF · virgiliusF · empedoclesG · aristotelesG · mightH · knightH · lightH · wightH · brightH · rollsI · soulsI · lordJ · affordJ · pouredJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hear, O thou earth, hear, thou encircling sea, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Yea, all that live beneath the sun, hear ye | 10 | ·········· |
| How of this world the bravery and the glory | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Are but vain forms and shadows transitory, | 11 | ·····/·/˘·˘ |
| Even as all things 'neath Time's empire show | 10 | /·····/˘˘· |
| By their short durance and swift overthrow! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Nothing avails the dignity of kings, | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Naught, naught avail the strength and stuff of things; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The wisdom of the arts no succour brings; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Genus and species help not at death's hour, | 11 | /˘·/˘····/˘ |
| No man was saved by gold in that dread stour; | 10 | ·········· |
| The substance of things fadeth as a flower, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| As ice 'neath sunshine melts into a shower. | 11 | ···/·····/˘ |
| Where is Plato, where is Porphyrius? | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Where is Tullius, where is Virgilius? | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| Where is Thales, where is Empedocles, | 8 | ········ |
| Or illustrious Aristoteles? | 9 | ·˘/˘˘···· |
| Where's Alexander, peerless of might? | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| Where is Hector, Troy's stoutest knight? | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| Where is King David, learning's light? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Solomon where, that wisest wight? | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Where is Helen, and Paris rose-bright? | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| They have fallen to the bottom, as a stone rolls: | 12 | ··/˘··/˘···· |
| Who knows if rest be granted to their souls? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But Thou, O God, of faithful men the Lord, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To us Thy favour evermore afford | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| When on the wicked judgment shall be poured! | 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.