Analysis of Morality

Matthew Arnold 1822 (Laleham) – 1888 (Liverpool)



We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides;
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides.
    But tasks in hours of insight will'd
    Can be through hours of gloom fulfill'd.

With aching hands and bleeding feet
We dig and heap, lay stone on stone;
We bear the burden and the heat
Of the long day, and wish 'twere done.
    Not till the hours of light return,
    All we have built do we discern.

Then, when the clouds are off the soul,
When thou dost bask in Nature's eye,
Ask, how she view'd thy self-control,
Thy struggling, task'd morality--
    Nature, whose free, light, cheerful air,
    Oft made thee, in thy gloom, despair.

And she, whose censure thou dost dread,
Whose eye thou wast afraid to seek,
See, on her face a glow is spread,
A strong emotion on her cheek!
    'Ah, child!' she cries, 'that strife divine,
    Whence was it, for it is not mine?

'There is no effort on my brow--
I do not strive, I do not weep;
I rush with the swift spheres and glow
In joy, and when I will, I sleep.
    Yet that severe, that earnest air,
    I saw, I felt it once--but where?

'I knew not yet the gauge of time,
Nor wore the manacles of space;
I felt it in some other clime,
I saw it in some other place.
    'Twas when the heavenly house I trod,
    And lay upon the breast of God.'


Scheme ABABCC DXDXEE FXFXGG HIHIJJ XKXKGG LMLMNN
Poetic Form
Metre 11010111 010100101 0101011 010010101 11010111 111101101 11010101 11011111 11010001 10110111 110101101 11111101 11011101 11110101 11111101 110010100 10111101 11101101 01110111 11110111 11010111 01010101 11111101 11111111 11110111 11111111 11101101 01011111 11011101 11111111 11110111 110111 11101101 11101101 110100111 01010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,305
Words 252
Sentences 13
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 160
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 26, 2023

1:16 min read
181

Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. more…

All Matthew Arnold poems | Matthew Arnold Books

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