Analysis of Thou That Know'st for Whom I Mourn
Henry Vaughan 1621 (Brecknockshire) – 1695
THOU that know'st for whom I mourn,
And why these tears appear,
That keep'st account till he return
Of all his dust left here ;
As easily Thou might'st prevent,
As now produce, these tears,
And add unto that day he went
A fair supply of years.
But 'twas my sin that forc'd Thy hand
To cull this primrose out,
That by Thy early choice forewarn'd
My soul might look about.
O what a vanity is man !
How like the eye's quick wink
His cottage fails ; whose narrow span
Begins even at the brink !
Nine months thy hands are fashioning us,
And many years—alas !—
Ere we can lisp, or ought discuss
Concerning Thee, must pass ;
Yet have I known Thy slightest things,
A feather, or a shell,
A stick, or rod, which some chance brings
The best of us excel ;
Yea, I have known these shreds outlast
A fair-compacted frame,
And for one twenty we have past
Almost outlive our name.
Thus hast Thou plac'd in man's outside
Death to the common eye,
That heaven within him might abide,
And close eternity ;
Hence youth, and folly, man's first shame,
Are put unto the slaughter,
And serious thoughts begin to tame
The wise man's madness, laughter.
Dull, wretched worms ! that would not keep
Within our first fair bed,
But out of Paradise must creep
For ev'ry foot to tread !
Yet had our pilgrimage been free,
And smooth without a thorn,
Pleasures had foil'd eternity,
And tares had chok'd the corn.
Thus by the cross salvation runs ;
Affliction is a mother
Whose painful throes yield many sons,
Each fairer than the other.
A silent tear can pierce Thy throne,
When loud joys want a wing ;
And sweeter airs stream from a groan,
Than any arted string.
Thus, Lord, I see my gain is great,
My loss but little to it ;
Yet something more I must entreat,
And only Thou canst do it.
O let me—like him—know my end !
And be as glad to find it :
And whatsoe'er Thou shalt commend,
Still let Thy servant mind it !
Then make my soul white as his own,
My faith as pure and steady,
And deck me, Lord, with the same crown
Thou hast crown'd him already !
Scheme | ABCDEFEGHIJIKLKLMNMNOPOPQRQRSTSURVRVWXWXUAUAYVYVZ1 Z1 2 3 E3 4 3 4 3 ZU5 U |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 011101 111011101 111111 110011101 110111 01101111 010111 11111111 11111 11110101 111101 11010011 110111 11011101 0110101 111111001 010101 11111101 010111 11111101 010101 01111111 011101 1111111 010101 01110111 11101 11110111 110101 110011101 010100 11010111 1110010 010010111 0111010 11011111 0110111 1111011 11111 111010011 010101 10110100 011101 11010101 0101010 11011101 1101010 01011111 111101 01011101 11011 11111111 1111011 1101111 0101111 11111111 0111111 011101 1111011 11111111 1111010 01111011 1111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,031 |
Words | 373 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 64 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,543 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 387 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 51 Views
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"Thou That Know'st for Whom I Mourn" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18466/thou-that-know%27st-for-whom-i-mourn>.
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