Fragment of Chorus of a “Dejaneira”
O frivolous mind of man,Light ignorance, and hurrying, unsure thoughts!Though man bewails you not,How I bewail you!
Little in your prosperityDo you seek counsel of the gods.Proud, ignorant, self-adored, you live alone.In profound silence stern,Among their savage gorges and cold springs,Unvisited remainThe great oracular shrines.
Thither in your adversityDo you betake yourselves for light,But strangely misinterpret all you hear.For you will not put onNew hearts with the inquirer’s holy robe,And purged, considerate minds.
And him on whom, at the endOf toil and dolour untold,The gods have said that reposeAt last shall descend undisturbed,--Him you expect to beholdIn an easy old age, in a happy home:No end but this you praise.
But him on whom, in the primeOf life, with vigor undimmed,With unspent mind, and a soulUnworn, undebased, undecayed,Mournfully grating, the gatesOf the city of death have forever closed,--Him, I count him, well-starred.
Words in this poem
- oracular a.
- Of or pertaining to an oracle; uttering oracles; forecasting the future; as, an oracular tongue. [L. oracularius. See Oracle.]
- adversity n.
- Opposition; contrariety. Wyclif. [OE. adversite, F. adversité, fr. L. adversitas.]
- betake v. t.
- To take or seize. [Pref. be- + take.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- misinterpret v. t.
- To interpret erroneously; to understand or to explain in a wrong sense.
- dolour n.
- Pain; grief; distress; anguish. [OE. dolor, dolur, dolour, F. douleur, L. dolor, fr. dolere. See 1st Dole.]
- untold a.
- Not told; not related; not revealed; as, untold secrets.
- 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,]
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- starred a.
- Adorned or studded with stars; bespangled. [From Star.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fragment of Chorus of a “Dejaneira” 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, Fragment of Chorus of a “Dejaneira”, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/fragment-of-chorus-of-a-dejaneira.html, id L07007.
Form and metre
Fragment of Chorus of a “Dejaneira” is 31 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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.
- 4 -A--A-- end · untoldA · repose · undisturbed · beholdA · home · praise
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O frivolous mind of man, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Light ignorance, and hurrying, unsure thoughts! | 9 | ·/˘·/˘˘/· |
| Though man bewails you not, | 6 | ······ |
| How I bewail you! | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Little in your prosperity | 8 | /˘··˘/˘˘ |
| Do you seek counsel of the gods. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Proud, ignorant, self-adored, you live alone. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| In profound silence stern, | 6 | ·˘//˘· |
| Among their savage gorges and cold springs, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Unvisited remain | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The great oracular shrines. | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| Thither in your adversity | 8 | /˘··˘/˘˘ |
| Do you betake yourselves for light, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| But strangely misinterpret all you hear. | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| For you will not put on | 6 | ······ |
| New hearts with the inquirer’s holy robe, | 9 | ····˘//˘· |
| And purged, considerate minds. | 8 | ··˘˘/˘˘· |
| And him on whom, at the end | 7 | ······· |
| Of toil and dolour untold, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The gods have said that repose | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| At last shall descend undisturbed,-- | 8 | ···˘/·˘/ |
| Him you expect to behold | 7 | ··˘/·˘/ |
| In an easy old age, in a happy home: | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| No end but this you praise. | 6 | ······ |
| But him on whom, in the prime | 7 | ······· |
| Of life, with vigor undimmed, | 8 | ···/˘··˘ |
| With unspent mind, and a soul | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Unworn, undebased, undecayed, | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| Mournfully grating, the gates | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Of the city of death have forever closed,-- | 11 | ··/˘···˘/˘· |
| Him, I count him, well-starred. | 7 | ······˘ |
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