Quiet Work
One lesson, Nature, let me learn of thee,One lesson which in every wind is blown,One lesson of two duties kept at oneThough the loud world proclaim their enmity,--
Of toil unsevered from tranquillity;Of labor, that in lasting fruit outgrowsFar noisier schemes, accomplished in repose,Too great for haste, too high for rivalry.
Yes, while on earth a thousand discords ring,Man’s senseless uproar mingling with his toil,Still do thy quiet ministers move on,
Their glorious tasks in silence perfecting;Still working, blaming still our vain turmoil,Laborers that shall not fail, when man is gone.
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- turmoil v. t.
- To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
- 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
Quiet Work 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, Quiet Work, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/quiet-work.html, id L06930.
Form and metre
Quiet Work is 14 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 4 lines end 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 pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
- 2 -AA- tranquillity · outgrowsA · reposeA · rivalry
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One lesson, Nature, let me learn of thee, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| One lesson which in every wind is blown, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| One lesson of two duties kept at one | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Though the loud world proclaim their enmity,-- | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| Of toil unsevered from tranquillity; | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Of labor, that in lasting fruit outgrows | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··/ |
| Far noisier schemes, accomplished in repose, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Too great for haste, too high for rivalry. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Yes, while on earth a thousand discords ring, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Man’s senseless uproar mingling with his toil, | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| Still do thy quiet ministers move on, | 8 | ···//˘·· |
| Their glorious tasks in silence perfecting; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| Still working, blaming still our vain turmoil, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/·/· |
| Laborers that shall not fail, when man is gone. | 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.