Assignment 6

ASSIGNMENT #6

Epitaphs

An epitaph (from Greek, meaning "upon a tomb") is an inscription on a tomb, or writing suitable for that purpose. The epitaph can be in prose or poetry; if poetry, it can be in any rhythmical pattern or none, rhymed or unrhymed. It should not be confused with the elegy, which, although often similar to the epitaph in subject and tone, is quite a bit longer.

Epitaphs range from the lofty to the coarse, from the sublimely serious to the shockingly hilarious. Some people have used satire to write their enemy's epitaph long before the enemy died.

The earliest examples of epitaphs, carved in stone, are from ancient Egypt. The Greeks and Romans became conscious of the epitaph as a literary form. Elegies were written throughout the Middle Ages, too, but it wasn't until the 15th century in England that the epitaph developed into an exceptionally high art.

Most epitaphs are sober and serious:

Epitaph on Elizabeth, L.H.

Wouldst thou hear what man can say

In a little? Reader, stay. Underneath this stone doth lie

As much beauty as could die; Which in life did harbor give

To more virtue than doth live. If at all she had a fault,

Leave it buried in this vault. One name was Elizabeth,

Th' other let it sleep with death; Fitter, where it died to tell,

Than that it lived at all. Farewell.

-Ben Johnson

Here are some examples of epitaphs:

Underneath this sod lies John Round,

Who was lost at sea, and never was found.

For a young girl...

Sleep soft in dust until the Almighty will,

Then rise, unchanged, and be an angel still.

and another...

Here lies I

Killed by a sky

Rocket in my eye.

The following prose epitaph was written to commemorate a man who was scalded to death...

"Sacred to the memory of our 'steamed friend."

and other famous examples...

Jesse James

Kearney, Missouri

Died April 3, 1882

Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days

Murdered by a traitor and a coward

whose name is not worthy

to appear here.

Jack London

Jack London State Historic Park, Glen Ellen, California...

The Stone the Builders Rejected

Edgar Allan Poe Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland...

Quoth the Raven nevermore.

Dr. Fred Roberts Brookland, Arkansas...

Office up stairs.

Benjamin Franklin's Epitaph...

The Body of

B. Franklin, Printer,

Like the Cover of an old Book,

Its Contents torn out,

And stript of its Lettering & Gilding,

Lies here, Food for Worms.-

But the work shall not be lost;

For it will, as he believd,

appear once more

In a new and more elegant

Edition Corrected and improved

By the Author. -

Given by B Franklin to Sam.Morris August 31, 1776

Other Resource: http://www.hardiehouse.org/epitaph/planhome.html

AND FINALLY.....YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

1. Write your own epitaph. It may be serious or funny.

2. In a paragraph, tell me why this epitaph is appropriate for you. Use your best writing.

3. Find 2 epitaphs on the web. Include them here. Don't choose any that I have listed. Choose 2 that you like or dislike and explain why you feel that way. Use "at least" 3 sentences to explain each. Don't forget to include the web address that you used for each epitaph.