Tichborne Presentation

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Tichborne’s Elegy, written with his own hand in the Tower

before his execution.

A commentary and some background details

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Tichborne’s Elegy

The poem was written byCharles Tichborne in

1586, as part of a letter to his wife, Agnes

An elegy is a reflection on the

death of someone or about sorrow

Tichborne wrote the poem about his own life, knowing that he would be executed the next day.

The theme of the poem is simple:Tichborne is too young to die


Tichborne’s Elegy uses antithesis

This is where two ideas are juxtaposed, or placed alongside each other

My feast of joy is but a dish of pain,

The line can be separated

in two “joy” and “pain” contrast

“feast” picks up on “dish.”

The words are in opposition to each other

Key word


You will see that the lines follow a similar pattern of antithesis

My fruit is fallen, and yet my leaves are green

My crop of corn is but a field of tares,

My thread is cut and yet it is not spun

weeds

These words set the ideas in opposition

In Greek mythology the Fates would

spin thread to decide how long a man would live.


What kind of effect is createdby these lines?

The day is past, and yet I saw no sun,

My youth is spent and yet I am not old,

I looked for life and saw it was a shade,

I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb,

ghost

regret?

sadness?

despondency?

grief?

sorrow?These words are all associated with elegies

Which words contribute tothis effect?

negatives


The elegy makes use of paradox

My tale was heard and yet it was not told,The reader tries

to work out the meaning

A contradictionDoesn’t seem to make sense on a first reading

Does this mean that at his trial

he did not get the chance to put his

own version of events?

Does this refer to his life being cut short?


Here’s another example of paradox:

My glass is full, and now my glass is run,

His life has run out - it’s time to die

Potentially he has the rest

of his life in front of him


You will have noticed that each stanza ends with the same line

And now I live, and now my life is done.

For the moment he lives But he knows his life is effectively over

If you were reading the poem out aloud

would you read this line in the same way in each stanza?

Also the sense of his life’s work is complete


The style of the poem

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 and 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.

The rhyme scheme

ABABCC

End-stopped lines- each one a complete thought

Single syllable words contribute to simple and stark effect.

Nearly all lines begin with “my” or “I” -

repeated later.

All stanzas follow the same pattern


Extract from a letter written by Chidiock Tichborne to his wife,

the night before he suffered.

The most loving wife alive I commend me to thee, and desire God to bless thee with all happiness.

Pray for thy dead husband, and be of good comfort, for I hope in Jesus Christ this morning

to see the face of my Redeemer, in the most joyful Throne of his glorious kingdom.

For the full text and some further details on Tichborne: http://preview.tinyurl.com/38jtho

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Tichborne Presentation