Epitaph, to Be Written Under the Latin Inscription upon the Tomb of the Only Son of the Lord Andover
'Tis fit the English reader should be told,In our own language, what this tomb does hold.'Tis not a noble corpse alone does lieUnder this stone, but a whole family.His parents' pious care, their name, their joy,And all their hope, lies buried with this boy;This lovely youth! for whom we all made moan,That knew his worth, as he had been our own.
Had there been space and years enough allow'd,His courage, wit, and breeding to have show'd,We had not found, in all the num'rous rollOf his famed ancestors, a greater soul;His early virtues to that ancient stockGave as much honour, as from thence he took.
Like buds appearing ere the frosts are past,To become man he made such fatal haste,And to perfection labour'd so to climb,Preventing slow experience and time,That 'tis no wonder Death our hopes beguiled;He's seldom old that will not be a child.'Lord Andover': the eldest son of the Earl of Berkshire.
Words in this poem
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epitaph, to Be Written Under the Latin Inscription upon the Tomb of the Only Son of the Lord Andover 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, to Be Written Under the Latin Inscription upon the Tomb of the Only Son of the Lord Andover, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/epitaph-to-be-written-under-the-latin-inscription-upon-the-tomb-of-the-only-son-of-the-lord-andover.html, id L26333.
Form and metre
Epitaph, to Be Written Under the Latin Inscription upon the Tomb of the Only Son of the Lord Andover is 21 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 AA--BBCC toldA · holdA · lie · family · joyB · boyB · moanC · ownC
- 2 --AA-- allow'd · show'd · rollA · soulA · stock · took
- 3 --AABB- past · haste · climbA · timeA · beguiledB · childB · berkshire
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis fit the English reader should be told, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| In our own language, what this tomb does hold. | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| 'Tis not a noble corpse alone does lie | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Under this stone, but a whole family. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| His parents' pious care, their name, their joy, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And all their hope, lies buried with this boy; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| This lovely youth! for whom we all made moan, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That knew his worth, as he had been our own. | 10 | ········/· |
| Had there been space and years enough allow'd, | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| His courage, wit, and breeding to have show'd, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| We had not found, in all the num'rous roll | 10 | ·········· |
| Of his famed ancestors, a greater soul; | 10 | ···/·˘·/˘· |
| His early virtues to that ancient stock | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Gave as much honour, as from thence he took. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Like buds appearing ere the frosts are past, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| To become man he made such fatal haste, | 10 | ·˘/····/˘· |
| And to perfection labour'd so to climb, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Preventing slow experience and time, | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| That 'tis no wonder Death our hopes beguiled; | 10 | ···/˘·/·˘/ |
| He's seldom old that will not be a child. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| 'Lord Andover': the eldest son of the Earl of Berkshire. | 13 | ·/˘·/˘·····/˘ |
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