Absence
In this fair stranger’s eyes of gray,Thine eyes, my love! I see.I shiver; for the passing dayHad borne me far from thee.
This is the curse of life! that notA nobler, calmer trainOf wiser thoughts and feelings blotOur passions from our brain;
But each day brings its petty dust,Our soon-choked souls to fill;And we forget because we must,And not because we will.
I struggle towards the light; and ye,Once-longed-for storms of love!If with the light ye cannot be,I bear that ye remove.
I struggle towards the light; but oh,While yet the night is chill,Upon time’s barren, stormy flow,Stay with me, Marguerite, still!
Words in this poem
- calmer n.
- One who, or that which, makes calm.
- marguerite n.
- The daisy (Bellis perennis). The name is often applied also to the ox-eye daisy and to the China aster. [F., a pearl, a daisy. See Margarite.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Absence 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, Absence, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/absence.html, id L06992.
Form and metre
Absence is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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.
- 1 ABAB grayA · seeB · dayA · theeB
- 2 ABAB notA · trainB · blotA · brainB
- 3 ABAB dustA · fillB · mustA · willB
- 4 ABAB yeA · loveB · beA · removeB
- 5 ABAB ohA · chillB · flowA · stillB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In this fair stranger’s eyes of gray, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thine eyes, my love! I see. | 6 | ······ |
| I shiver; for the passing day | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Had borne me far from thee. | 6 | ······ |
| This is the curse of life! that not | 8 | ········ |
| A nobler, calmer train | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Of wiser thoughts and feelings blot | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Our passions from our brain; | 8 | /˘/˘·/˘· |
| But each day brings its petty dust, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Our soon-choked souls to fill; | 8 | /˘··˘··· |
| And we forget because we must, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And not because we will. | 6 | ······ |
| I struggle towards the light; and ye, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Once-longed-for storms of love! | 7 | ··˘···· |
| If with the light ye cannot be, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I bear that ye remove. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I struggle towards the light; but oh, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| While yet the night is chill, | 6 | ······ |
| Upon time’s barren, stormy flow, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Stay with me, Marguerite, still! | 7 | ····˘/· |
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.