Epitaph on the Lady Sedley
Here lies the learned Savil's heir,So early wise, and lasting fair,That none, except her years they told,Thought her a child, or thought her old.All that her father knew or got,His art, his wealth, fell to her lot;And she so well improved that stock,Both of his knowledge and his flock,That wit and fortune, reconciledIn her, upon each other smiled.While she to every well-taught mindWas so propitiously inclined,And gave such title to her store,That none, but th'ignorant, were poor.The Muses daily found supplies,Both from her hands and from her eyes.Her bounty did at once engage,And matchless beauty warm their rage.Such was this dame in calmer days,Her nation's ornament and praise!But when a storm disturb'd our rest,The port and refuge of the oppress'd.This made her fortune understood,And look'd on as some public good.So that (her person and her state,Exempted from the common fate)In all our civil fury sheStood, like a sacred temple, free.May here her monument stand so,To credit this rude age! and showTo future times, that even weSome patterns did of virtue see;And one sublime example hadOf good, among so many bad.
EPITAPH,
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- 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.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- calmer n.
- One who, or that which, makes calm.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epitaph on the Lady Sedley is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Waller, Epitaph on the Lady Sedley, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/epitaph-on-the-lady-sedley.html, id L09131.
Form and metre
Epitaph on the Lady Sedley is 35 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ heirA · fairA · toldB · oldB · gotC · lotC · stockD · flockD · reconciledE · smiledE · mindF · inclinedF · storeG · poorG · suppliesH · eyesH · engageI · rageI · daysJ · praiseJ · restK · oppress'dK · understoodL · goodL · stateM · fateM · sheN · freeN · soO · showO · weP · seeP · hadQ · badQ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here lies the learned Savil's heir, | 8 | ····˘··· |
| So early wise, and lasting fair, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That none, except her years they told, | 8 | ········ |
| Thought her a child, or thought her old. | 8 | ········ |
| All that her father knew or got, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His art, his wealth, fell to her lot; | 8 | ········ |
| And she so well improved that stock, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Both of his knowledge and his flock, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That wit and fortune, reconciled | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| In her, upon each other smiled. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While she to every well-taught mind | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Was so propitiously inclined, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And gave such title to her store, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That none, but th'ignorant, were poor. | 8 | ········ |
| The Muses daily found supplies, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Both from her hands and from her eyes. | 8 | ········ |
| Her bounty did at once engage, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And matchless beauty warm their rage. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Such was this dame in calmer days, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her nation's ornament and praise! | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| But when a storm disturb'd our rest, | 8 | ····˘//· |
| The port and refuge of the oppress'd. | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| This made her fortune understood, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And look'd on as some public good. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So that (her person and her state, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Exempted from the common fate) | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| In all our civil fury she | 8 | ··//˘/˘· |
| Stood, like a sacred temple, free. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| May here her monument stand so, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| To credit this rude age! and show | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To future times, that even we | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Some patterns did of virtue see; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And one sublime example had | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Of good, among so many bad. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| EPITAPH, | 3 | /˘· |
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.