The Journey of Life
Beneath the waning moon I walk at night,And muse on human life--for all aroundAre dim uncertain shapes that cheat the sight,And pitfalls lurk in shade along the ground,And broken gleams of brightness, here and there,Glance through, and leave unwarmed the death-like air.
The trampled earth returns a sound of fear--A hollow sound, as if I walked on tombs!And lights, that tell of cheerful homes, appearFar off, and die like hope amid the glooms.A mournful wind across the landscape flies,And the wide atmosphere is full of sighs.
And I, with faltering footsteps, journey on,Watching the stars that roll the hours away,Till the faint light that guides me now is gone,And, like another life, the glorious dayShall open o'er me from the empyreal height,With warmth, and certainty, and boundless light.
Words in this poem
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- faltering a.
- Hesitating; trembling.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- empyreal a.
- Formed of pure fire or light; refined beyond aërial substance; pertaining to the highest and purest region of heaven. [L. empyrius, empyreus, fiery, Gr. In, and Fire.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Journey of 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 Journey of Life, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-journey-of-life.html, id L07324.
Form and metre
The Journey of Life is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 17% 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 ABABCC nightA · aroundB · sightA · groundB · thereC · airC
- 2 ABABCC fearA · tombsB · appearA · gloomsB · fliesC · sighsC
- 3 ABABCC onA · awayB · goneA · dayB · heightC · lightC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beneath the waning moon I walk at night, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And muse on human life--for all around | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Are dim uncertain shapes that cheat the sight, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And pitfalls lurk in shade along the ground, | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| And broken gleams of brightness, here and there, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Glance through, and leave unwarmed the death-like air. | 10 | ·········· |
| The trampled earth returns a sound of fear-- | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| A hollow sound, as if I walked on tombs! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And lights, that tell of cheerful homes, appear | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Far off, and die like hope amid the glooms. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| A mournful wind across the landscape flies, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/·· |
| And the wide atmosphere is full of sighs. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And I, with faltering footsteps, journey on, | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| Watching the stars that roll the hours away, | 10 | /˘·····/˘/ |
| Till the faint light that guides me now is gone, | 10 | ·········· |
| And, like another life, the glorious day | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Shall open o'er me from the empyreal height, | 12 | ·/˘····˘/˘˘· |
| With warmth, and certainty, and boundless light. | 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.