On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age
FROM dark abodes to fair etherial lightTh' enraptur'd innocent has wing'd her flight;On the kind bosom of eternal loveShe finds unknown beatitude above.This known, ye parents, nor her loss deplore,She feels the iron hand of pain no more;The dispensations of unerring grace,Should turn your sorrows into grateful praise;Let then no tears for her henceforward flow,No more distress'd in our dark vale below,Her morning sun, which rose divinely bright,Was quickly mantled with the gloom of night;But hear in heav'n's blest bow'rs your Nancy fair,And learn to imitate her language there."Thou, Lord, whom I behold with glory crown'd,"By what sweet name, and in what tuneful sound"Wilt thou be prais'd? Seraphic pow'rs are faint"Infinite love and majesty to paint."To thee let all their graceful voices raise,"And saints and angels join their songs of praise."Perfect in bliss she from her heav'nly homeLooks down, and smiling beckons you to come;Why then, fond parents, why these fruitless groans?Restrain your tears, and cease your plaintive moans.Freed from a world of sin, and snares, and pain,Why would you wish your daughter back again?No--bow resign'd. Let hope your grief control,And check the rising tumult of the soul.Calm in the prosperous, and adverse day,Adore the God who gives and takes away;Eye him in all, his holy name revere,Upright your actions, and your hearts sincere,Till having sail'd through life's tempestuous sea,And from its rocks, and boist'rous billows free,Yourselves, safe landed on the blissful shore,Shall join your happy babe to part no more.
Words in this poem
- beatitude n.
- Felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss. [L. beatitudo: cf. F. béatitude. See Beatify.]
- deplore v. t.
- To feel or to express deep and poignant grief for; to bewail; to lament; to mourn; to sorrow over. [L. deplorare; de- + plorare to cry out, wail, lament; prob. akin to pluere to rain, and to E. flow: cf. F. déplorer. Cf. Flow.]
- unerring a.
- Committing no mistake; incapable or error or failure certain; sure; unfailing; as, the unerring wisdom of God.
- henceforward adv.
- From this time forward; henceforth.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- tuneful a.
- Harmonious; melodious; musical; as, tuneful notes.
- seraphic a.
- Of or pertaining to a seraph; becoming, or suitable to, a seraph; angelic; sublime; pure; refined. [Cf. F. séraphique.]
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- revere v. t.
- To regard with reverence, or profound respect and affection, mingled with awe or fear; to venerate; to reverence; to honor in estimation. [L. revereri; pref. re- re- + vereri to fear, perh. akin to E. wary: cf. F. révérer.]
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- 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,]
- babe n.
- An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems on various subjects, religious and moral, Project Gutenberg ebook #409; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Phillis Wheatley, On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #409, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wheatley-poems/on-the-death-of-a-young-lady-of-five-years-of-age.html, id L25922.
Form and metre
On the Death of a young Lady of Five Years of Age is 36 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 91%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRR lightA · flightA · loveB · aboveB · deploreC · moreC · graceD · praiseD · flowE · belowE · brightF · nightF · fairG · thereG · crown'dH · soundH · faintI · paintI · raiseJ · praiseJ · homeK · comeK · groansL · moansL · painM · againM · controlN · soulN · dayO · awayO · revereP · sincereP · seaQ · freeQ · shoreR · moreR
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FROM dark abodes to fair etherial light | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Th' enraptur'd innocent has wing'd her flight; | 10 | ˘/˘/˘˘···· |
| On the kind bosom of eternal love | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| She finds unknown beatitude above. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| This known, ye parents, nor her loss deplore, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| She feels the iron hand of pain no more; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The dispensations of unerring grace, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Should turn your sorrows into grateful praise; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Let then no tears for her henceforward flow, | 11 | ··········· |
| No more distress'd in our dark vale below, | 10 | ··˘/·/···· |
| Her morning sun, which rose divinely bright, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Was quickly mantled with the gloom of night; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| But hear in heav'n's blest bow'rs your Nancy fair, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And learn to imitate her language there. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| "Thou, Lord, whom I behold with glory crown'd, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| "By what sweet name, and in what tuneful sound | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "Wilt thou be prais'd? Seraphic pow'rs are faint | 10 | ·········· |
| "Infinite love and majesty to paint. | 10 | /˘˘··/˘˘·· |
| "To thee let all their graceful voices raise, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| "And saints and angels join their songs of praise." | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Perfect in bliss she from her heav'nly home | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Looks down, and smiling beckons you to come; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Why then, fond parents, why these fruitless groans? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Restrain your tears, and cease your plaintive moans. | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Freed from a world of sin, and snares, and pain, | 10 | ·········· |
| Why would you wish your daughter back again? | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| No--bow resign'd. Let hope your grief control, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| And check the rising tumult of the soul. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Calm in the prosperous, and adverse day, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/·· |
| Adore the God who gives and takes away; | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Eye him in all, his holy name revere, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Upright your actions, and your hearts sincere, | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Till having sail'd through life's tempestuous sea, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And from its rocks, and boist'rous billows free, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Yourselves, safe landed on the blissful shore, | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Shall join your happy babe to part no more. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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