A Modern Sappho
They are gone--all is still! Foolish heart, dost thou quiver?Nothing stirs on the lawn but the quick lilac-shade.
Far up shines the house, and beneath flows the river:Here lean, my head, on this cold balustrade!
Ere he come,--ere the boat by the shining-branched borderOf dark elms shoot round, dropping down the proud stream,--Let me pause, let me strive, in myself make some order,Ere their boat-music sound, ere their broidered flags gleam.
Last night we stood earnestly talking together:She entered--that moment his eyes turned from me!Fastened on her dark hair, and her wreath of white heather.As yesterday was, so to-morrow will be.
Their love, let me know, must grow strong and yet stronger,Their passion burn more, ere it ceases to burn.They must love--while they must! but the hearts that love longerAre rare--ah! most loves but flow once, and return.
I shall suffer--but they will outlive their affection;I shall weep--but their love will be cooling; and he,As he drifts to fatigue, discontent, and dejection,Will be brought, thou poor heart, how much nearer to thee!
For cold is his eye to mere beauty, who, breakingThe strong band which passion around him hath furled,Disenchanted by habit, and newly awaking,Looks languidly round on a gloom-buried world.
Through that gloom he will see but a shadow appearing,Perceive but a voice as I come to his side;--But deeper their voice grows, and nobler their bearing,Whose youth in the fires of anguish hath died.
Hast thou yet dealt him, O life, thy full measure?World, have thy children yet bowed at his knee?Hast thou with myrtle-leaf crowned him, O pleasure?--Crown, crown him quickly, and leave him for me.
Words in this poem
- balustrade n.
- A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- outlive v. t.
- To live beyond, or longer than; to survive.
- cooling a.
- Adapted to cool and refresh; allaying heat.
- dejection n.
- A casting down; depression. Hallywell. [L. dejectio a casting down: cf. F. déjection.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Modern Sappho is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54985; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Matthew Arnold, A Modern Sappho, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/a-modern-sappho.html, id L06945.
Form and metre
A Modern Sappho is 32 lines in 9 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.6 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 3 ABAB borderA · streamB · orderA · gleamB
- 4 ABAB togetherA · meB · heatherA · beB
- 5 ABAB strongerA · burnB · longerA · returnB
- 6 ABAB affectionA · heB · dejectionA · theeB
- 7 ABAB breakingA · furledB · awakingA · worldB
- 8 -A-A appearing · sideA · bearing · diedA
- 9 ABAB measureA · kneeB · pleasureA · meB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| They are gone--all is still! Foolish heart, dost thou quiver? | 13 | ······/˘···/˘ |
| Nothing stirs on the lawn but the quick lilac-shade. | 12 | /˘·······/·· |
| Far up shines the house, and beneath flows the river: | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Here lean, my head, on this cold balustrade! | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Ere he come,--ere the boat by the shining-branched border | 13 | ········/˘·/˘ |
| Of dark elms shoot round, dropping down the proud stream,-- | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Let me pause, let me strive, in myself make some order, | 13 | ········/··/˘ |
| Ere their boat-music sound, ere their broidered flags gleam. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Last night we stood earnestly talking together: | 11 | ····/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| She entered--that moment his eyes turned from me! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| Fastened on her dark hair, and her wreath of white heather. | 13 | /˘·········/˘ |
| As yesterday was, so to-morrow will be. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Their love, let me know, must grow strong and yet stronger, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Their passion burn more, ere it ceases to burn. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| They must love--while they must! but the hearts that love longer | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| Are rare--ah! most loves but flow once, and return. | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| I shall suffer--but they will outlive their affection; | 13 | ··/˘····/·˘/˘ |
| I shall weep--but their love will be cooling; and he, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| As he drifts to fatigue, discontent, and dejection, | 12 | ····˘/˘/·˘/˘ |
| Will be brought, thou poor heart, how much nearer to thee! | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| For cold is his eye to mere beauty, who, breaking | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| The strong band which passion around him hath furled, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Disenchanted by habit, and newly awaking, | 12 | ˘/˘·/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Looks languidly round on a gloom-buried world. | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Through that gloom he will see but a shadow appearing, | 13 | ········/·˘/˘ |
| Perceive but a voice as I come to his side; | 11 | ˘/········· |
| --But deeper their voice grows, and nobler their bearing, | 12 | ·/˘····/˘·/˘ |
| Whose youth in the fires of anguish hath died. | 10 | ····/·/˘·· |
| Hast thou yet dealt him, O life, thy full measure? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| World, have thy children yet bowed at his knee? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Hast thou with myrtle-leaf crowned him, O pleasure? | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| --Crown, crown him quickly, and leave him for me. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.