The Future Life
How shall I know thee in the sphere which keepsThe disembodied spirits of the dead,When all of thee that time could wither sleepsAnd perishes among the dust we tread?
For I shall feel the sting of ceaseless painIf there I meet thy gentle presence not;Nor hear the voice I love, nor read againIn thy serenest eyes the tender thought.
Will not thy own meek heart demand me there?That heart whose fondest throbs to me were given?My name on earth was ever in thy prayer,Shall it be banished from thy tongue in heaven?
In meadows fanned by heaven's life-breathing wind,In the resplendence of that glorious sphere,And larger movements of the unfettered mind,Wilt thou forget the love that joined us here?
The love that lived through all the stormy past,And meekly with my harsher nature bore,And deeper grew, and tenderer to the last,Shall it expire with life, and be no more?
A happier lot than mine, and larger light,Await thee there; for thou hast bowed thy willIn cheerful homage to the rule of right,And lovest all, and renderest good for ill.
For me, the sordid cares in which I dwell,Shrink and consume my heart, as heat the scroll;And wrath has left its scar--that fire of hellHas left its frightful scar upon my soul.
Yet though thou wear'st the glory of the sky,Wilt thou not keep the same beloved name,The same fair thoughtful brow, and gentle eye,Lovelier in heaven's sweet climate, yet the same?
Shalt thou not teach me, in that calmer home,The wisdom that I learned so ill in this--The wisdom which is love--till I becomeThy fit companion in that land of bliss?
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- resplendence n.
- The quality or state of being resplendent; brilliant luster; vivid brightness; splendor. [L. resplendentia.]
- 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.]
- meekly adv.
- In a meek manner.
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- sordid a.
- Filthy; foul; dirty. [L. sordidus, fr. sordere to be filthy or dirty; probably akin to E. swart: cf. F. sordide. See Swart, a.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- frightful a.
- Full of fright; affrighted; frightened.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- calmer n.
- One who, or that which, makes calm.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Future Life is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by William Cullen Bryant, Project Gutenberg ebook #16341; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Cullen Bryant, The Future Life, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-future-life.html, id L07354.
Form and metre
The Future Life is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 ABAB keepsA · deadB · sleepsA · treadB
- 2 A-A- painA · not · againA · thought
- 3 A-A- thereA · given · prayerA · heaven
- 4 ABAB windA · sphereB · mindA · hereB
- 5 ABAB pastA · boreB · lastA · moreB
- 6 ABAB lightA · willB · rightA · illB
- 7 ABAB dwellA · scrollB · hellA · soulB
- 8 ABAB skyA · nameB · eyeA · sameB
- 9 ABAB homeA · thisB · becomeA · blissB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How shall I know thee in the sphere which keeps | 10 | ·········· |
| The disembodied spirits of the dead, | 10 | ·˘˘/˘/˘··· |
| When all of thee that time could wither sleeps | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And perishes among the dust we tread? | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| For I shall feel the sting of ceaseless pain | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| If there I meet thy gentle presence not; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Nor hear the voice I love, nor read again | 10 | ········˘/ |
| In thy serenest eyes the tender thought. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Will not thy own meek heart demand me there? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| That heart whose fondest throbs to me were given? | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| My name on earth was ever in thy prayer, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Shall it be banished from thy tongue in heaven? | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| In meadows fanned by heaven's life-breathing wind, | 11 | ·/···/˘·/˘· |
| In the resplendence of that glorious sphere, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And larger movements of the unfettered mind, | 11 | ·/˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| Wilt thou forget the love that joined us here? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The love that lived through all the stormy past, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And meekly with my harsher nature bore, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And deeper grew, and tenderer to the last, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Shall it expire with life, and be no more? | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| A happier lot than mine, and larger light, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Await thee there; for thou hast bowed thy will | 10 | ˘/········ |
| In cheerful homage to the rule of right, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And lovest all, and renderest good for ill. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For me, the sordid cares in which I dwell, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shrink and consume my heart, as heat the scroll; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And wrath has left its scar--that fire of hell | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Has left its frightful scar upon my soul. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet though thou wear'st the glory of the sky, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Wilt thou not keep the same beloved name, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The same fair thoughtful brow, and gentle eye, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Lovelier in heaven's sweet climate, yet the same? | 12 | ····/˘·/˘··· |
| Shalt thou not teach me, in that calmer home, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The wisdom that I learned so ill in this-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The wisdom which is love--till I become | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Thy fit companion in that land of bliss? | 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.