An Arundel Tomb

Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl and countess lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And that faint hint of the absurd - The little dogs under their feet. Such plainness of the pre-baroque Hardly involves the eye, until It meets his left-hand gauntlet, still Clasped empty in the other; and One sees, with a sharp tender shock, His hand withdrawn, holding her hand. They would not think to lie so long. Such faithfulness in effigy Was just a detail friends would see: A sculptor's sweet commissioned grace Thrown off in helping to prolong The Latin names around the base. They would no guess how early in Their supine stationary voyage The air would change to soundless damage, Turn the old tenantry away; How soon succeeding eyes begin To look, not read. Rigidly they Persisted, linked, through lengths and breadths Of time. Snow fell, undated. Light Each summer thronged the grass. A bright Litter of birdcalls strewed the same Bone-littered ground. And up the paths The endless altered people came, Washing at their identity. Now, helpless in the hollow of An unarmorial age, a trough Of smoke in slow suspended skeins Above their scrap of history, Only an attitude remains: Time has transfigures them into Untruth. The stone fidelity They hardly meant has come to be Their final blazon, and to prove Our almost-instinct almost true: What will survive of us is love.

rhyme scheme - formal

change of tone (serious --> absurd/bizarre/strange)

atypical of these tombs - wouldn't usually have this sign of affection.

was just another piece of work for the artist

metaphor - voyage of timethe air that they once breathed is the same air that breaks them down.

original meaning is almost irrelevant, what it means has changed to people

monument of death but a symbol of love - irony

our instincts aren't true but we try to prove they are

Age - erosion by time :'their faces blurred''their proper habits barely shown'

Imagery :'The earl and countess lie in stone,Their proper habits vaguely shown''Such faithfulness in effigy''...LightEach summer thronged the glass. A brightLitter of birds strewed the sameBone-riddled ground''... a troughOf smoke in slow suspended skeins'

Comedy :'And that faint hint of the absurd -The little dogs under their feet''The endless altered people came'

Sign of love :'One sees with a sharp tender shock,His hand withdrawn, holding her hand''Such faithfulness in effigy''...The stone fidelityThey hardly meant has come to beTheir final blazon, and to proveOur almost-instinct almost true :What will survive of us is love'

Initial purpose of the sculpture :'They would not think to lie so longSuch faithfulness in effigyWas just a detail friends would see:A sculpture's sweet commissioned graceThrown off on helping to prolongThe Latin names around the base'

Metaphor :'supine stationary voyage'

Paradox :'supine stationary voyage'

Alliteration :'supine stationary'

Change of meaning :'Washing at their identity''Time has transfigured them into Untruth''They would not think to lie so longSuch faithfulness in effigyWas just a detail friends would see:A sculpture's sweet commissioned graceThrown off in helping to prolongThe Latin names around the base''....The stone fidelityThey hardly meant has come to beTheir final blazon, and to prove Our almost-instinct almost true:What will survive of us is love'

Change in people :'They would not guess how early inTheir supine stationary voyageThe air would change to soundless damage,Turn the old tenantry away;How soon succeeding eyes beginTo look, not read''The endless altered people came'

Pun :'The endless altered people came'

Contrast between birth and death :'... A brightLitter of birdcalls strewed the sameBone-riddled ground'

Time - the passage of time :'They would not guess how early inTheir supine stationary voyageThe air would change to soundless damage,Turn the old tenantry away;How soon succeeding eyes beginTo look, not read''...a troughOf smoke in slow suspended skeins''Time has transfigured them intoUntruth'

Human need for meaning - hope'.....prove our almost-instinct almost true :What will survive of us is love'

Contrast between the emotional force and intellectual honesty :'Time has transfigured them intoUntruth''....The stone fidelityThey hardly meant has come to beTheir final blazon, and to prove Our almost-instinct almost true:What will survive of us is love''They would not think to lie so longSuch faithfulness in effigyWas just a detail friends would see:A sculpture's sweet commissioned graceThrown off in helping to prolongThe Latin names around the base'

An Arundel Tomb

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