The Voice
As the kindling glances,Queen-like and clear,Which the bright moon lancesFrom her tranquil sphereAt the sleepless watersOf a lonely mere,On the wild whirling waves, mournfully, mournfully,Shiver and die;As the tears of sorrowMothers have shed--Prayers that to-morrowShall in vain be spedWhen the flower they flow forLies frozen and dead--Fall on the throbbing brow, fall on the burning breast,Bringing no rest;
Like bright waves that fallWith a lifelike motionOn the lifeless margin of the sparkling ocean;A wild rose climbing up a mouldering wall;A gush of sunbeams through a ruined hall;Strains of glad music at a funeral,--So sad, and with so wild a startTo this deep-sobered heart,So anxiously and painfully,So drearily and doubtfully,And, oh! with such intolerable changeOf thought, such contrast strange,O unforgotten voice, thy accents come,Like wanderers from the world’s extremity,Unto their ancient home!
In vain, all, all in vain,They beat upon mine ear again,--Those melancholy tones so sweet and still;Those lute-like tones which in the bygone yearDid steal into mine ear;Blew such a thrilling summons to my will,Yet could not shake it;Made my tost heart its very life-blood spill,Yet could not break it.
Words in this poem
- sleepless a.
- Having no sleep; wakeful.
- 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,]
- lifelike a.
- Like a living being; resembling life; giving an accurate representation; as, a lifelike portrait. [Cf. Lively.]
- anxiously adv.
- In an anxious manner; with painful uncertainty; solicitously.
- drearily adv.
- Gloomily; dismally.
- doubtfully adv.
- In a doubtful manner.
- bygone n.
- Something gone by or past; a past event.
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Voice 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 Voice, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/the-voice.html, id L06950.
Form and metre
The Voice is 40 lines in 3 stanzas. 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAB-B--CDCD-DEE glancesA · clearB · lancesA · sphereB · waters · mereB · mournfully · die · sorrowC · shedD · morrowC · spedD · for · deadD · breastE · restE
- 2 ABBAAACC--DDE-E fallA · motionB · oceanB · wallA · hallA · funeralA · startC · heartC · painfully · doubtfully · changeD · strangeD · comeE · extremity · homeE
- 3 AABCCBDBD vainA · againA · stillB · yearC · earC · willB · itD · spillB · itD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| As the kindling glances, | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Queen-like and clear, | 4 | ···· |
| Which the bright moon lances | 6 | ····/˘ |
| From her tranquil sphere | 5 | ··/˘· |
| At the sleepless waters | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Of a lonely mere, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| On the wild whirling waves, mournfully, mournfully, | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Shiver and die; | 4 | /˘·· |
| As the tears of sorrow | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Mothers have shed-- | 4 | /˘·· |
| Prayers that to-morrow | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Shall in vain be sped | 5 | ····· |
| When the flower they flow for | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Lies frozen and dead-- | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Fall on the throbbing brow, fall on the burning breast, | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| Bringing no rest; | 4 | /˘·· |
| Like bright waves that fall | 5 | ····· |
| With a lifelike motion | 6 | ··/·/˘ |
| On the lifeless margin of the sparkling ocean; | 11 | ··/˘/˘··/˘/ |
| A wild rose climbing up a mouldering wall; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A gush of sunbeams through a ruined hall; | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Strains of glad music at a funeral,-- | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| So sad, and with so wild a start | 8 | ········ |
| To this deep-sobered heart, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| So anxiously and painfully, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| So drearily and doubtfully, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| And, oh! with such intolerable change | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Of thought, such contrast strange, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O unforgotten voice, thy accents come, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Like wanderers from the world’s extremity, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Unto their ancient home! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In vain, all, all in vain, | 6 | ······ |
| They beat upon mine ear again,-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Those melancholy tones so sweet and still; | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| Those lute-like tones which in the bygone year | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Did steal into mine ear; | 6 | ······ |
| Blew such a thrilling summons to my will, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Yet could not shake it; | 5 | ····· |
| Made my tost heart its very life-blood spill, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet could not break it. | 5 | ····· |
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