Part III, Chapters 16–17: "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" by John Dryden

In this elegy, Dryden mourns the death of John Oldham, a fellow poet.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lyre
    a harp used by ancient Greeks for accompaniment
    One common note on either lyre did strike,
    And knaves and fools we both abhorr'd alike:
    To the same goal did both our studies drive,
    The last set out the soonest did arrive.
  2. knave
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    One common note on either lyre did strike,
    And knaves and fools we both abhorr'd alike:
    To the same goal did both our studies drive,
    The last set out the soonest did arrive.
  3. abhor
    feel hatred or disgust toward
    One common note on either lyre did strike,
    And knaves and fools we both abhorr'd alike:
    To the same goal did both our studies drive,
    The last set out the soonest did arrive.
  4. satire
    a literary genre that uses humor to ridicule human failings and vices
    But satire needs not those, and wit will shine
    Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.
  5. cadence
    the accent in a metrical foot of verse
    But satire needs not those, and wit will shine
    Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.
  6. noble
    having high or elevated character
    A noble error, and but seldom made,
    When poets are by too much force betray'd.
  7. prime
    the time of maturity when power and vigor are greatest
    Thy generous fruits, though gather'd ere their prime
    Still show'd a quickness; and maturing time
    But mellows what we write to the dull sweets of rhyme.
  8. hail
    greet enthusiastically or joyfully
    Once more, hail and farewell; farewell thou young,
    But ah too short, Marcellus of our tongue;
    Thy brows with ivy, and with laurels bound;
    But fate and gloomy night encompass thee around.
  9. laurel
    a wreath of foliage worn on the head as an emblem of victory
    Once more, hail and farewell; farewell thou young,
    But ah too short, Marcellus of our tongue;
    Thy brows with ivy, and with laurels bound;
    But fate and gloomy night encompass thee around.
  10. encompass
    include in scope
    Once more, hail and farewell; farewell thou young,
    But ah too short, Marcellus of our tongue;
    Thy brows with ivy, and with laurels bound;
    But fate and gloomy night encompass thee around.
Created on Mon Jun 07 15:02:49 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Jun 07 15:05:38 EDT 2021)

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