Monody on a Lady Famed for her Caprice
The speaker mocks Maria's vanity and fondness for flattery, describing her as having died unwept and lived unloved. The speaker proposes nettles for her bier and ends with an epitaph blaming her lack of respect and esteem on her lack of wisdom and goodness.
By Robert Burns · Genre: Satirical Poetry, Elegy · 322 words
First lines
On a lady famed for her Caprice.
How cold is that bosom which folly once fired, / How pale is that cheek where the rouge lately glisten'd; / How silent that tongue which the echoes oft tired, / How dull is that ear which to flatt'ry so listen'd!
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Monody on a Lady Famed for her Caprice is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Satirical Poetry, Elegy
- Length: 322 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for Monody on a Lady Famed for her Caprice by Robert Burns
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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Genres
- Satirical Poetry — The funeral verses ridicule Maria's vanity and susceptibility to flattery, proposing stinging nettles as fitting flowers for her bier.
- Elegy — The speaker addresses the dead Maria, describes her bier and supplies an epitaph, turning the form of mourning into a hostile lament.
Tags
vanity · flattery · caprice · death · mock elegy · epitaph