Analysis of The Funerall

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Who ever comes to shroud me, do not harme
Nor question much
That subtile wreath of haire, which crowns my arme;
The mystery, the signe you must not touch,
For'tis my outward Soule,
Viceroy to that, which then to heaven being gone,
Will leave this to controule,
And keep these limbes, her Provinces, from dissolution.
For if the sinewie thread my braine lets fall
Through every part,
Can tye those parts, and make mee one of all;
These haires which upward grew, and strength and art
Have from a better braine,
Can better do'it; Except she meant that I
By this should know my pain,
As prisoners then are manacled, when they'are condemn'd to die.

What ere shee meant by'it, bury it with me,
For since I am
Loves martyr, it might breed idolatrie,
If into others hands these Reliques came;
As'twas humility
To afford to it all that a Soule can doe,
So,'tis some bravery,
That since you would save none of mee, I bury some of you.


Scheme ABABCDCXEFEFDGXG AAHAXXHX
Poetic Form
Metre 1101111111 1101 111111111 0100011111 111101 101111110101 11111 011101001010 110111111 11001 1111011111 1111010101 110101 11011011111 111111 11001111110111 11111110111 1111 1101111 101101111 110100 10111110111 111100 11111111110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 912
Words 172
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 16, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 359
Words per stanza (avg) 85
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

53 sec read
84

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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