Written the Night Before his Execution An elegy

Written the Night Before his Execution An elegy is a reflection on the death someone or about sorrow aka Tichbourne’s Elegy By Chidiock Tichbourne

The poem… My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, My feast of joy is but a dish of pain; My crop of corn is but a field of tares, And all my good is but vain hope of gain; My day is past, and yet I saw no sun; And now I live, and now my life is done.

My tale was heard, and yet it was not told, My fruit is fallen, and yet my leaves are green; My youth is spent, and yet I am not old, I saw the world an yet I was not seen. My thread is cut and yet it is not spun; And now I live, and now my life is done.

I sought my death, and found it in my womb, I looked for life, and saw it was a shade, I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb, And now I die, and now I was but made: The glass is full, and now my glass is run, And now I live, and now my life is done.

Context Written by Tichbourne - a national terrorist or Christian martyr because he had committed treason by trying to assassinate Queen Elizabeth 1. Under Elizabeth Catholicism was illegal and Catholics could no longer publicly worship and had to be careful to hide their faith. Tichbourne was a minor conspirator in a plot to overthrow the queen and replace her with the next in line, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a Catholic (the Babington Plot). Life for Catholics was difficult as they had no religious freedom and were kept from positions of privilege or royal favour. The plot did not succeed because of a fellow conspirator turned the rest in to escape punishment himself. All those caught were sentenced to death. Apparently the poem was written on 19 th September, the eve of his execution. The next day he was hung but wile he was choking he was disemboweled alive (hung, drawn and quartered). He was between 23 -28 at the time of his death.

The poet uses a similar use of antitheses and metaphors to convey his frustration of Last meals his life being cut short Use of words or phrases to contrast with each were not of other in order to create a balanced effect nourishment Written in first He is at the but was that person, ‘I’ and MAYBE alludes to the Sadness/Troubles pinnacle of his of emotional ‘my’ show Gospel imagery of the life suffering he was in a state painful cup that must be My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, of complete selfdrunk to fulfill God’s will My feast of joy is but a dish of pain; absorption and (Jesus) – Last Supper My crop of corn is but a field of tares, mental isolation Never had a chance Weeds And all my good is but vain hope of gain; in his last hours – to enjoy life like The day is past, and yet I saw no sun; understandable Agricultural Metaphor other youths And now I live, and now my life is done. really! Nothing truly worthwhile was His life has come to its end produced by him in his life The only way the poet has In this case the benefited in his life is by hoping Last line is repeated in all three contemporary to make an achievement but has stanzas so as to emphasise English in reality his efforts were al in although he is alive at this translation of ‘vain’ precise moment in time his life is ‘but’ is ‘just’ virtually over Although the poet is young his life is ‘frost’, joyless and full of worries = impending death Feeling of defeat is heightened when he reminisces and realizes that he actually hasn’t really accomplished anything worthwhile in his short life. Each line contrasts his youthful life, his prime, with the certainty of his death.

The poet had a life, his existence is recorded Expressing frustration that his life was not lived to the full. . does not have a legacy to leave behind He uses paradox to contrast between his expectations as a young man and his reward as a traitor Compares life to a tree, he is a fruit has ripened and fallen to the ground because his life is about My tale was heard, and yet it was not told, to end. Slight My fruit is fallen, and yet my leaves are green; Did not have time to connotation My youth is spent, and yet I am not old, leave a mark that he is I saw the world, and yet I was not seen. ready for his My thread is cut, and yet it is not spun; His life has not death even And now I live, and now my life is done. been lived out though he is In Greek mythology the still young Could emphasize the poet’s inability to fates would spin thread to escape his execution decide how long a person would live Tichbourne has established in the previous stanza that he had not achieved anything substantial now he is actually realizing that he will never get the chance to make something of himself

He never fully trusted life, as he saw it as a ‘shade’illusory Image of an hourglass He expected his death, it was decided even before he was born Reference to the origin of his fate, it all started when he was born Catholic. His fate to fight for his beliefs. I sought my death, and found it in my womb, I looked for life, and saw it was a shade, I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb, And now I die, and now I was but made: The glass is full, and now my glass is run, And now I live, and now my life is done. Everyone is born to die Reference to the way he dies-stomach is slashed open(foreshadow) Common poetical conceit…puns on a man being biblically created on earth and returning to earth Perhaps it can also be that for the first time he is really living because heaven is now on the horizon and he is realizing what life s about In this stanza the poet takes his inevitable outcome as an expected outcome with no other possible alternative options, as though death is the proper thing for him to experience at this moment. Though poet is troubled by how it ends, you can perceive that he did fulfill his earthly purpose and can now die in peace From the point of view of eternity, He feels like his life just started a moment ago and is now already coming to an end but it is okay because his transition to heaven is instantaneous

General Remarks Although the poem picks up on many images of regret and despair it is in itself not a despairing poem, instead I feel it is one of acceptance and stubbornness to continue on defiantly down this course till the end With the exception of fallen every word in the poem is of one syllable, this adds to the stark and plain tone of the poem…it doesn’t try too hard he has stripped himself bare The fact that the poet is writing poetry in his last moments gives him an element of grace and dignity…which is seen in the poem through the use of proper punctuation, caesura and perfect iambic pentameter with a true ABABCC rhyme scheme Each end rhyme pair is significantly appropriate, each being an opposite of the other and yet equated. e. g My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, My crop of corn is but a field of tares,