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.
The first four lines of the poem form one decisive sentence, which is a mini-epitaph in its own right. They begin conventionally, with the phrase “here lies,” as though the poem was written on the daughter’s real gravestone, rather than printed in a book. From here, Jonson refers to the parents’ grief in a conventional, impersonal way. The word “ruth,” which is short and formal, feels like an understatement of the overwhelming grief a parent would feel at having lost their child. That coldness makes a little more sense when read in conjunction with the fourth line. Jonson is attempting to comfort himself, and convince himself that he as a father should feel less grief than he does. The word “rue” which ends the line ties back to “ruth”—he’s trying to tone down precisely those feelings of sadness which begin the poem.
Whose soul heaven’s queen, whose name she bears,
In comfort of her mother’s tears,
Hath placed amongst her virgin-train:
These three lines use syntax to blur the lines between the child Mary, her mother, and the Virgin Mary. “Whose soul” refers to little Mary’s soul, which Jonson believes now belongs to “heaven’s queen,” or the Virgin Mary. In the second phrase of the line, the referent of “whose” switches, now referring to the Virgin Mary rather than the child. The next line introduces a third figure, the mother—but at first we aren’t sure whether this is not merely another name for the Virgin Mary, who is said to be the mother of God. The ambiguity creates a potent sense of community between the three women, and emphasizes their capacity to share comfort and protect the young Mary from the dangers of death.
Where, while that severed doth remain,
This grave partakes the fleshly birth;
Which cover lightly, gentle earth!
The final three lines of “On My Last Daughter” enact a stark tonal shift. The rest of the poem is primarily concerned with comfort, as Jonson attempts to convince himself not to grieve too much for his dead daughter. The final three lines, however, are a plea rather than a rational argument. Jonson’s attention shifts from his daughter’s soul to her body, which is buried in the cold ground. He personifies that ground, and pleads with it to cover her lightly. The bleak tone is reinforced by the words “severed” and “fleshly,” which emphasize the brutality and physicality of death. Although Jonson trusts that one day the “severed” body and soul will be reunited and resurrected, he cannot help but focus on the present, in which his daughter’s fleshly body is devoured by the grave.
