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Epitaph on the Tombstone of a Child, the Last of Seven that Died Before

By Aphra Behn 1640–1689 Aphra Behn

This Little, Silent, Gloomy Monument,

Contains all that was sweet and innocent ;

The softest pratler that e'er found a Tongue,

His Voice was Musick and his Words a Song ;

Which now each List'ning Angel smiling hears,

Such pretty Harmonies compose the Spheres;

Wanton as unfledg'd Cupids, ere their Charms

Has learn'd the little arts of doing harms ;

Fair as young Cherubins, as soft and kind,

And tho translated could not be refin'd ;

The Seventh dear pledge the Nuptial Joys had given,

Toil'd here on Earth, retir'd to rest in Heaven ;

Where they the shining Host of Angels fill,

Spread their gay wings before the Throne, and smile.

Biography

Aphra Behn, one of the most influential dramatists of the late seventeenth century, was also a celebrated poet and novelist. Her contemporary reputation was founded primarily on her "scandalous" plays, which she claimed would not have been criticized for impropriety had a man written them. Behn's assertion of her unique role in English literary history is confirmed not only by the extraordinary circumstances of her writings, but . . .

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