Eve of Execution Elegy

Chidiock Tichborne 1558 (Southampton) – 1586



My prime of youth is but a frost of cares,
My feast of joy is but a dish of pain,
My crop of corn is but a field of tares,
And all my good is but vain hope of gain;
The day is past, and yet I saw no sun,
And now I live, and now my life is done.

My tale was heard and yet it was not told,
My fruit is fallen and yet my leaves are green,
My youth is spent and yet I am not old,
I saw the world and yet I was not seen;
My thread is cut and yet it is not spun,
And now I live, and now my life is done.

I sought my death and found it in my womb,
I looked for life and saw it was a shade,
I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb,
And now I die, and now I was but made:
My glass is full, and now my glass is run,
And now I live, and now my life is done.
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Submitted by brian_s on October 17, 2017

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
127

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababcC dedecC fgfgcC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 732
Words 180
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6

Chidiock Tichborne

Chidiock Tichborne is an English conspirator and poet. more…

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