Self-Dependence
Weary of myself, and sick of askingWhat I am, and what I ought to be,At this vessel’s prow I stand, which bears meForwards, forwards, o’er the starlit sea.
And a look of passionate desireO’er the sea and to the stars I send:“Ye who from my childhood up have calmed me,Calm me, ah, compose me to the end!
Ah, once more,” I cried, “ye stars, ye waters,On my heart your mighty charm renew;Still, still let me, as I gaze upon you,Feel my soul becoming vast like you!”
From the intense, clear, star-sown vault of heaven,Over the lit sea’s unquiet way,In the rustling night-air came the answer,--“Wouldst thou be as these are? Live as they.
“Unaffrighted by the silence round them,Undistracted by the sights they see,These demand not that the things without themYield them love, amusement, sympathy.
“And with joy the stars perform their shining,And the sea its long moon-silvered roll;For self-poised they live, nor pine with notingAll the fever of some differing soul.
“Bounded by themselves, and unregardfulIn what state God’s other works may be,In their own tasks all their powers pouring,These attain the mighty life you see.”
O air-born voice! long since, severely clear,A cry like thine in mine own heart I hear,--“Resolve to be thyself; and know, that heWho finds himself loses his misery!”
Words in this poem
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- starlit a.
- Lighted by the stars; starlight.
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- unquiet v. t.
- To disquiet. Ld. Herbert. [1st pref. un- + quiet.]
- amusement n.
- Deep thought; muse. [Cf. F. amusement.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Self-Dependence 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, Self-Dependence, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/self-dependence.html, id L07051.
Form and metre
Self-Dependence is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.4 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 -AAA asking · beA · meA · seaA
- 2 -A-A desire · sendA · me · endA
- 3 -AAA waters · renewA · youA · youA
- 4 -A-A heaven · wayA · answer · theyA
- 5 A-A- themA · see · themA · sympathy
- 6 -A-A shining · rollA · noting · soulA
- 7 -A-A unregardful · beA · pouring · seeA
- 8 AA-- clearA · hearA · he · misery
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 trochaic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Weary of myself, and sick of asking | 10 | /˘··/···/˘ |
| What I am, and what I ought to be, | 9 | ········· |
| At this vessel’s prow I stand, which bears me | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Forwards, forwards, o’er the starlit sea. | 9 | /˘/˘··/˘· |
| And a look of passionate desire | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| O’er the sea and to the stars I send: | 9 | ········· |
| “Ye who from my childhood up have calmed me, | 10 | ····/····· |
| Calm me, ah, compose me to the end! | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Ah, once more,” I cried, “ye stars, ye waters, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| On my heart your mighty charm renew; | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Still, still let me, as I gaze upon you, | 10 | ·········· |
| Feel my soul becoming vast like you!” | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| From the intense, clear, star-sown vault of heaven, | 10 | ··˘/·····/ |
| Over the lit sea’s unquiet way, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| In the rustling night-air came the answer,-- | 10 | ··/˘····/˘ |
| “Wouldst thou be as these are? Live as they. | 9 | ········· |
| “Unaffrighted by the silence round them, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Undistracted by the sights they see, | 9 | ········· |
| These demand not that the things without them | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| Yield them love, amusement, sympathy. | 9 | ···˘/˘/˘˘ |
| “And with joy the stars perform their shining, | 10 | ·····˘/·/˘ |
| And the sea its long moon-silvered roll; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| For self-poised they live, nor pine with noting | 10 | ········/˘ |
| All the fever of some differing soul. | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| “Bounded by themselves, and unregardful | 10 | /˘·˘/····· |
| In what state God’s other works may be, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| In their own tasks all their powers pouring, | 9 | ······//˘ |
| These attain the mighty life you see.” | 9 | ·˘/·/˘··· |
| O air-born voice! long since, severely clear, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| A cry like thine in mine own heart I hear,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| “Resolve to be thyself; and know, that he | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| Who finds himself loses his misery!” | 9 | ··˘//˘·/˘ |
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.