Mystery
Think not that mystery has placeIn the obscure and veilèd face,Or when the midnight watches areUncompanied of moon or star,Or where the fields and forests lieEnfolded from the loving eyeBy fogs rebellious to the sun,Or when the poet’s rhymes are spunFrom dreams that even in his ownImagining are half-unknown.
These are not mystery, but mereConditions that deny the clearReality that lies behindThe weak, unspeculative mind,Behind contagions of the airAnd screens of beauty everywhere,The brooding and tormented sky,The hesitation of an eye.
Look rather when the landscapes glowThrough crystal distances as thoughThe forty shires of England spreadInto one vision harvested,Or when the moonlit waters lieIn silver cold lucidity;Those countenances search that bearWitness to very character,And listen to the song that weighsA life’s adventure in a phrase--These are the founts of wonder, theseThe plainer miracles to pleaseThe brain that reads the world aright;Here is the mystery of light.
Words in this poem
- rebellious a.
- Engaged in rebellion; disposed to rebel of the nature of rebels or of rebellion; resisting government or lawful authority by force.
- moonlit a.
- Illumined by the moon.
- lucidity n.
- The quality or state of being lucid. [Cf. F. lucidité. See Lucid.]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mystery is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, 1908-1919, Project Gutenberg ebook #51575; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Drinkwater, Mystery, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/mystery.html, id L23007.
Form and metre
Mystery is 32 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 88% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEE placeA · faceA · areB · starB · lieC · eyeC · sunD · spunD · ownE · unknownE
- 2 AABBCCDD mereA · clearA · behindB · mindB · airC · everywhereC · skyD · eyeD
- 3 AABB----CCDDEE glowA · thoughA · spreadB · harvestedB · lie · lucidity · bear · character · weighsC · phraseC · theseD · pleaseD · arightE · lightE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Think not that mystery has place | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| In the obscure and veilèd face, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Or when the midnight watches are | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Uncompanied of moon or star, | 7 | ······· |
| Or where the fields and forests lie | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Enfolded from the loving eye | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| By fogs rebellious to the sun, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Or when the poet’s rhymes are spun | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From dreams that even in his own | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Imagining are half-unknown. | 8 | ˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| These are not mystery, but mere | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Conditions that deny the clear | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Reality that lies behind | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| The weak, unspeculative mind, | 8 | ········ |
| Behind contagions of the air | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And screens of beauty everywhere, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The brooding and tormented sky, | 8 | ·/˘·/·˘· |
| The hesitation of an eye. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Look rather when the landscapes glow | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Through crystal distances as though | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| The forty shires of England spread | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Into one vision harvested, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Or when the moonlit waters lie | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| In silver cold lucidity; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Those countenances search that bear | 8 | ·/˘˘˘··· |
| Witness to very character, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| And listen to the song that weighs | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A life’s adventure in a phrase-- | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| These are the founts of wonder, these | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The plainer miracles to please | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| The brain that reads the world aright; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Here is the mystery of light. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
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.