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[Parody on an Epitaph]


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[Parody on an Epitaph]


1 Now clean, now hideous, mellow now, now gruff,
2 She swept, she hissed, she ripened and grew rough,
3 At Broom, Pendragon, Appleby and Brough.

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0 [Parody on an Epitaph]

Metrical notation:  -+|-+|-+|-+|-+/ -+|-+|-+|-+|-+/ -+|-+|-+|-+|-+/
Metrical foot type:  iambic (-+)
Metrical foot number:  pentameter (5 feet)
Rhyme scheme:  aaa
Syllable pattern:  10.10.10
Stanza:  triplet (3 lines)

Notation symbols: | (foot boundary), || (caesura), / (metrical line boundary), + (metrically prominent), - (metrically non-prominent)


1 Now clean, now hideous, mellow now, now gruff,    
Rhyme:  aaa   |   Rhyme word(s):  gruff   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌf/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  -+|-+|-+|-+|-+/   |   Syllables:  10
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Now/now/now/now /n/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Now/now/now/now /aʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Now/clean/now/now/now /n/
Figure:  epizeuxis (morphological): now/now
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Now/now/now/now

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2 She swept, she hissed, she ripened and grew rough,    
Rhyme:  aaa   |   Rhyme word(s):  rough   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌf/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  -+|-+|-+|-+|-+/   |   Syllables:  10
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): She/she/she /ʃ/
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): ripened/rough /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): She/she/she /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): She/she/she /ʃ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): swept/ripened /p/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): swept/hissed /s/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): ripened/rough /r/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): She/she/she

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3 At Broom, Pendragon, Appleby and Brough.    
Rhyme:  aaa   |   Rhyme word(s):  Brough   |   Rhyme sound:  /ʌf/   |   Rhyme (line position):  end
Metre:  -+|-+|-+|-+|-+/   |   Syllables:  10
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Broom/Brough /b/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): At/Pendragon/and /æ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Broom/Brough /b/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Pendragon/Appleby /p/

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0 [Parody on an Epitaph] 1 Explanatory

Title/Paratext] "The epitaph (which has never [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1891.

"The epitaph (which has never before been given along with the parody) is as follows:

"Who Faith, Love, Mercy, noble Constancy
To God, to Virtue, to Distress, to Right
Observed, expressed, showed, held religiously
Hath here this monument thou seest in sight,
The cover of her earthly part, but passenger
Know Heaven and Fame contains the best of her."
    It is on an altar tomb, with recumbent figure, in the chancel of Appleby Church; the monument was erected in 1617, to Margaret (Russell), widow of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, by her only daughter, Anne, successively Countess of Dorset and of Pembroke and Montgomery; her own tomb, for which she also wrote the inscription, stands opposite."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891, 274-275.

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1 Now clean, now hideous, mellow now, now gruff,
2 She swept, she hissed, she ripened and grew rough,
3 At Broom, Pendragon, Appleby and Brough. 1 Explanatory

3.2-6 Broom, ... Brough.] "These were four castles of [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1891.

"These were four castles of the Barony of Westmoreland, which the Countess inherited, all of which she rebuilt."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891, 275.

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Works cited

  • The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891.

Spelling has been modernized throughout, except in case of conscious archaisms. Contractions, italics and initial capitalization have been largely eliminated, except where of real import. Obvious errors have been silently corrected, punctuation has been supplied. The editor would like to express his gratitude to the library staff of the Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen) for their invaluable assistance.

About this text

  • Composition: 1767
  • Publication: 1882
  • Base text: Holograph MS
  • Metre: iambic pentameter
  • Rhyme scheme: aaa
  • Stanza: triplet
  • Genre: parody
  • Finding Aid: MS witnesses
  • Notes/Queries: 2
  • Source: TEI/XML
  • Visualization: Poem Viewer