Morality
We cannot kindle when we willThe fire which in the heart resides;The spirit bloweth and is still,In mystery our soul abides.But tasks in hours of insight willedCan be through hours of gloom fulfilled.
With aching hands and bleeding feetWe dig and heap, lay stone on stone;We bear the burden and the heatOf 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 viewed thy self-control,Thy struggling, tasked 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 glowIn 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.”
Words in this poem
- insight n.
- A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; -- frequently used with into.
- aching a.
- That aches; continuously painful. See Ache.
- bask v. i.
- To lie in warmth; to be exposed to genial heat. [OScand. ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.]
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Morality 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, Morality, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/morality.html, id L07052.
Form and metre
Morality is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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.
- 1 ABABCC willA · residesB · stillA · abidesB · willedC · fulfilledC
- 2 A-A-BB feetA · stone · heatA · done · returnB · discernB
- 3 A-A-BB soulA · eye · controlA · morality · airB · despairB
- 4 ABABCC dreadA · seekB · spreadA · cheekB · divineC · mineC
- 5 -A-ABB brow · weepA · glow · sleepA · airB · whereB
- 6 ABABCC timeA · spaceB · climeA · placeB · trodC · 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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We cannot kindle when we will | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The fire which in the heart resides; | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| The spirit bloweth and is still, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In mystery our soul abides. | 8 | ·/˘˘/·˘/ |
| But tasks in hours of insight willed | 8 | ···/·/·· |
| Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled. | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| With aching hands and bleeding feet | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; | 8 | ········ |
| We bear the burden and the heat | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of the long day, and wish ’twere done. | 8 | ········ |
| Not till the hours of light return, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| All we have built do we discern. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Then, when the clouds are off the soul, | 8 | ········ |
| When thou dost bask in Nature’s eye, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ask how she viewed thy self-control, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Thy struggling, tasked morality,-- | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Nature, whose free, light, cheerful air, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Oft made thee, in thy gloom, despair. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And she, whose censure thou dost dread, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose eye thou wast afraid to seek, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| See, on her face a glow is spread, | 8 | ········ |
| A strong emotion on her cheek! | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| “Ah, child!” she cries, “that strife divine, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Whence was it, for it is not mine? | 8 | ········ |
| “There is no effort on my brow; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I do not strive, I do not weep: | 8 | ········ |
| I rush with the swift spheres, and glow | 8 | ········ |
| In joy, and when I will, I sleep. | 8 | ········ |
| Yet that severe, that earnest air, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| I saw, I felt it once--but where? | 8 | ········ |
| “I knew not yet the gauge of time, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor wore the manacles of space; | 7 | ······· |
| I felt it in some other clime, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I saw it in some other place. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ’Twas when the heavenly house I trod, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And lay upon the breast of God.” | 8 | ········ |
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.