"Though roll'st above us, in they wand'ring race,
Or, in procession fix'd and regular,
Mov'd with the Heavens' majestic pace:
Or, call'd to more superior bliss,
Though tread'st, with seraphims, the vast abyss."
Killigrew is dead by the time Dryden composed this poem. He dedicates the introduction to acknowledging her present fate. Convinced she is resting in heaven, he praises her for receiving just reward for her earthly contributions. She is presumably above in heaven but also symbolically positioned above Dryden in her skill and poetical prowess.
"A soul so charming from a stock so good;
Thy father was transfus'd into they blood:
So wert thou born into the tuneful strain,
(An early, rich, an dinexhausted vein.)"
Dryden acknowledges here Killigrew's heritage. Her father was a man of infamous moral uprightness. Inheriting his genes, Dryden credits Killigrew's dad with her blessings as well. She is building on the foundation which her dad established for her in her early development.
"Her morals too were in her bosom bred
By great examples daily fed,
What in the best of Books, her Father's Life, she read."
Again, Dryden refers to Killigrew's father. He rationalizes that she learned to be morally admirable because her father provided such a stellar example. Daily observing him live his life, she learned to emulate his righteousness. She was given too many examples of how to behave rightly to end up ignoring her father's wisdom.
"Not wit, nor piety could fate prevent;
Nor was the cruel destiny content
To finish all the murder at a blow,
To sweep at once her life, and beauty too"
Despite Killigrew's obvious artistic contributions, she wasn't exempt from suffering and death. Her religion and her mind couldn't protect her from physical decay, so she got sick and eventually died. Dryden focuses on the lamentable fact that she could've done so much more if allowed to live a little longer. Gradually succumbing to illness, she suffered before her death. All of the goodness of her life was not enough to preserve her in death still.
