Continued
Yet, when I muse on what life is, I seemRather to patience prompted, than that proudProspect of hope which France proclaims so loud,--France, famed in all great arts, in none supreme;
Seeing this vale, this earth, whereon we dream,Is on all sides o’ershadowed by the highUno’erleaped mountains of necessity,Sparing us narrower margin than we deem.
Nor will that day dawn at a human nod,When, bursting through the network superposedBy selfish occupation,--plot and plan,
Lust, avarice, envy,--liberated man,All difference with his fellow-mortal closed,Shall be left standing face to face with God.
Words in this poem
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Continued 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, Continued, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/continued.html, id L06939.
Form and metre
Continued is 14 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBA seemA · proudB · loudB · supremeA
- 2 A--A dreamA · high · necessity · deemA
- 3 CDE nodC · superposedD · planE
- 4 EDC manE · closedD · godC
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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Yet, when I muse on what life is, I seem | 10 | ·········· |
| Rather to patience prompted, than that proud | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Prospect of hope which France proclaims so loud,-- | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| France, famed in all great arts, in none supreme; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Seeing this vale, this earth, whereon we dream, | 9 | /····˘/·· |
| Is on all sides o’ershadowed by the high | 10 | ·········· |
| Uno’erleaped mountains of necessity, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Sparing us narrower margin than we deem. | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Nor will that day dawn at a human nod, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When, bursting through the network superposed | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| By selfish occupation,--plot and plan, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Lust, avarice, envy,--liberated man, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘· |
| All difference with his fellow-mortal closed, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Shall be left standing face to face with God. | 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.