The Church
Upon the glistening leaden roofOf the new pile, the sunlight shines;The stream goes leaping by.The hills are clothed with pines sun-proof;’Mid bright green fields, below the pines,Stands the church on high.What church is this, from men aloof?’Tis the Church of Brou.
At sunrise, from their dewy lairCrossing the stream, the kine are seenRound the wall to stray,--The churchyard wall that clips the squareOf open hill-sward fresh and greenWhere last year they lay.But all things now are ordered fairRound the Church of Brou.
On Sundays, at the matin-chime,The Alpine peasants, two and three,Climb up here to pray;Burghers and dames, at summer’s prime,Ride out to church from Chambery,Dight with mantles gay.But else it is a lonely timeRound the Church of Brou.
On Sundays, too, a priest doth comeFrom the walled town beyond the pass,Down the mountain-way;And then you hear the organ’s hum,You hear the white-robed priest say mass,And the people pray.But else the woods and fields are dumbRound the Church of Brou.
And after church, when mass is done,The people to the nave repairRound the tomb to stray;And marvel at the forms of stone,And praise the chiselled broideries rare--Then they drop away.The princely pair are left aloneIn the Church of Brou.
Words in this poem
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
- dight v. t.
- To prepare; to put in order; hence, to dress, or put on; to array; to adorn. [OF. dihten, AS. dihtan to dictate, command, dispose, arrange, fr. L. dictare to say often, dictate, order; cf. G. dichten to write poetry, fr. L. dictare. See D]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Church 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, The Church, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/the-church.html, id L06943.
Form and metre
The Church is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 28% 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 ABCABCA- roofA · shinesB · byC · proofA · pinesB · highC · aloofA · brou
- 2 ABCABCA- lairA · seenB · strayC · squareA · greenB · layC · fairA · brou
- 3 A-BA-BA- chimeA · three · prayB · primeA · chambery · gayB · timeA · brou
- 4 ABCABCA- comeA · passB · wayC · humA · massB · prayC · dumbA · brou
- 5 -ABCABC- done · repairA · strayB · stoneC · rareA · awayB · aloneC · brou
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Upon the glistening leaden roof | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of the new pile, the sunlight shines; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| The stream goes leaping by. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The hills are clothed with pines sun-proof; | 8 | ········ |
| ’Mid bright green fields, below the pines, | 8 | ········ |
| Stands the church on high. | 5 | ····· |
| What church is this, from men aloof? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| ’Tis the Church of Brou. | 5 | ····· |
| At sunrise, from their dewy lair | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Crossing the stream, the kine are seen | 8 | /˘······ |
| Round the wall to stray,-- | 5 | ····· |
| The churchyard wall that clips the square | 8 | ·/······ |
| Of open hill-sward fresh and green | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where last year they lay. | 5 | ····· |
| But all things now are ordered fair | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Round the Church of Brou. | 5 | ····· |
| On Sundays, at the matin-chime, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| The Alpine peasants, two and three, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Climb up here to pray; | 5 | ····· |
| Burghers and dames, at summer’s prime, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Ride out to church from Chambery, | 8 | ········ |
| Dight with mantles gay. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| But else it is a lonely time | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Round the Church of Brou. | 5 | ····· |
| On Sundays, too, a priest doth come | 8 | ·/······ |
| From the walled town beyond the pass, | 8 | ········ |
| Down the mountain-way; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| And then you hear the organ’s hum, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| You hear the white-robed priest say mass, | 8 | ········ |
| And the people pray. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| But else the woods and fields are dumb | 8 | ········ |
| Round the Church of Brou. | 5 | ····· |
| And after church, when mass is done, | 8 | ········ |
| The people to the nave repair | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Round the tomb to stray; | 5 | ····· |
| And marvel at the forms of stone, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And praise the chiselled broideries rare-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Then they drop away. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| The princely pair are left alone | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| In the Church of Brou. | 5 | ····· |
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