Record

Document ReferencePw V 350
TitleMS poem, entitled 'Epitaph on Mr Fenton', by Alexander Pope; n.d. [post 1730]
Date(1730 post)
Extent1 f
LevelItem/file
Content DescriptionText, which consists of 10 lines, has an indecipherable cancellation on l 6, with marginal insertion 'vale' in the hand of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford.

Last 3 words of epitaph partially survive on torn paper above the title, and suggest that the page may also have once contained a draft of the text.

Identified as Pope's autograph in letter from Robin Flower, British Museum to Francis Needham, Welbeck Abbey, July 1935 (See Pw V 1634).

Inscribed on a monument to the poet Elijah Fenton at Easthampstead, Berks.
Title Of WorkEpitaph on Mr Fenton
First Line of PoemThis modest stone what few vain marbles can
Last Line of PoemThankd heavn y<a>t he had livd, & that he dy'd
LanguageEnglish
Physical DescriptionFragment of quarto
ConditionGood, has been repaired.
Descriptive FeaturesChainlines about 26 mm apart
Related MaterialIndex, ELM III, PoA 131
For other concordances see Index, ELM, III, PoA 132-35
Publication NoteDaily Post-boy 22 Oct. 1730
Ault and Butt (eds), The Poems of Alexander Pope (1954) vi, pp 318-9.

Click the links below to view related name indexes

Persons
CodePersonNameDates of existence
NA74514Fenton; Elijah (1683-1730); Mr; poet1683-1730
NA1047Harley; Edward (1689-1741); 2nd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer; styled Lord Harley 1711-17241689-1741
NA1123Pope; Alexander (1688-1744); poet1688-1744
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