Analysis of Epitaph on the Lady Whitmore

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



Fair, kind, and true, a treasure each alone,
A wife, a mistress, and a friend, in one;
Rest in this tomb, raised at thy husband's cost,
Here sadly summing, what he had, and lost.
Come, virgins, ere in equal bands ye join,
Come first and offer at her sacred shrine;
Pray but for half the virtues of this wife,
Compound for all the rest, with longer life;
And wish your vows, like hers, may be returned,
So loved when living, and, when dead, so mourned.


Scheme ABCDEFGGHI
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Etheree  (20%)
Metre 1101010101 0101000101 1011111101 1101011101 1101010111 1101010101 1111010111 1011011101 0111101101 1111001111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 459
Words 87
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 10
Lines Amount 10
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 339
Words per stanza (avg) 85
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 19, 2023

26 sec read
353

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668. more…

All John Dryden poems | John Dryden Books

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