“On My First Daughter” Summary

“On My First Daughter” Themes

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  Religion as Comfort

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  The Persistence of Grief

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “On My First Daughter”

• Lines 1-4

  Here lies, to each her parents’ ruth,
  Mary, the daughter of their youth
  Yet all heaven’s gifts being heaven’s due,
  It makes the father less to rue.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-9

  At six months’ end she parted hence
  With safety of her innocence;
  Whose soul heaven’s queen, whose name she bears,
  In comfort of her mother’s tears,
  Hath placed amongst her virgin-train:

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 10-12

  Where, while that severed doth remain,
  This grave partakes the fleshly birth;
  Which cover lightly, gentle earth!

  

  

  

  

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“On My First Daughter” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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“On My First Daughter” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Ruth
• Due
• Rue
• Hence
• Hath
• Virgin-train
• Severed
• Doth
• Partakes

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “On My First Daughter”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“On My First Daughter” Speaker

“On My First Daughter” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “On My First Daughter”

More “On My First Daughter” Resources

• External Resources

  • Ben Jonson: Renaissance Man — An article about Jonson’s career as a playwright and dramatist.

  • Other Work by Jonson — Explore more of Jonson's writing.

  • Jonson’s Connection to Shakespeare — Read more about the poet’s friendship with and criticism of William Shakespeare.

  • About Ben Jonson — Information about the poet from the British Library.

  • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading of this poem aloud.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Ben Jonson

  • On My First Son

  • Song: To Celia ("Drink to me only with thine eyes")