Oh May I Join the Choir Invisible
Oh may I join the choir invisibleOf those immortal dead who live againIn minds made better by their presence: liveIn pulses stirred to generosity,In deeds of daring rectitude, in scornFor miserable aims that end with self,In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,And with their mild persistence urge man's searchTo vaster issues.
So to live is heaven:To make undying music in the world,Breathing as beauteous order that controlsWith growing sway the growing life of man.So we inherit that sweet purityFor which we struggled, failed, and agonizedWith widening retrospect that bred despair.Rebellious flesh that would not be subdued,A vicious parent shaming still its childPoor anxious penitence, is quick dissolved;Its discords, quenched by meeting harmonies,Die in the large and charitable air.And all our rarer, better, truer self,That sobbed religiously in yearning song,That watched to ease the burden of the world,Laboriously tracing what must be,And what may yet be better—saw withinA worthier image for the sanctuary,And shaped it forth before the multitudeDivinely human, raising worship soTo higher reverence more mixed with love—That better self shall live till human TimeShall fold its eyelids, and the human skyBe gathered like a scroll within the tombUnread forever.
This is life to come,Which martyred men have made more gloriousFor us who strive to follow. May I reachThat purest heaven, be to other soulsThe cup of strength in some great agony,Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,Beget the smiles that have no cruelty—Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,And in diffusion ever more intense.So shall I join the choir invisibleWhose music is the gladness of the world.
Words in this poem
- generosity n.
- Noble birth. Harris (Voyages). [L. generositas: cf. F. générosité.]
- undying a.
- Not dying; imperishable; unending; immortal; as, the undying souls of men.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- retrospect v. i.
- To look backward; hence, to affect or concern what is past. [L. retrospicere; retro back + specere, spectum, to look. See Spy, and cf. Expect.]
- rebellious a.
- Engaged in rebellion; disposed to rebel of the nature of rebels or of rebellion; resisting government or lawful authority by force.
- religiously adv.
- In a religious manner. Drayton.
- 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,]
- unread a.
- Not read or perused; as, an unread book. Hooker.
- 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.]
- enkindle v. t.
- To set on fire; to inflame; to kindle.
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Oh May I Join the Choir Invisible is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Legend of Jubal and Other Poems (ten poems from The poems of George Eliot, Crowell, 1884, on Wikisource; four from The Spanish Gypsy; The Legend of Jubal and Other Poems, Old and New, Worthington, 1890, Internet Archive spanishgypsylege00elio), Wikisource and Internet Archive; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George Eliot, Oh May I Join the Choir Invisible, in The Legend of Jubal and Other Poems (1874), text of Wikisource and Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/eliot-poems/oh-may-i-join-the-choir-invisible.html, id L29783.
Form and metre
Oh May I Join the Choir Invisible is 45 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 AABB invisibleA · againA · liveB · generosityB · scorn · self · stars · search · issues
- 3 AB-A--CD---C--B---D------ comeA · gloriousB · reach · soulsA · agony · love · crueltyC · diffusedD · intense · invisible · world
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh may I join the choir invisible | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Of those immortal dead who live again | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| In minds made better by their presence: live | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In pulses stirred to generosity, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| For miserable aims that end with self, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘····· |
| In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And with their mild persistence urge man's search | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| To vaster issues. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| So to live is heaven: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To make undying music in the world, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Breathing as beauteous order that controls | 11 | /˘·/˘˘/˘·˘/ |
| With growing sway the growing life of man. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| So we inherit that sweet purity | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| For which we struggled, failed, and agonized | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With widening retrospect that bred despair. | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Rebellious flesh that would not be subdued, | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| A vicious parent shaming still its child | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Poor anxious penitence, is quick dissolved; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| Its discords, quenched by meeting harmonies, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Die in the large and charitable air. | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘· |
| And all our rarer, better, truer self, | 10 | ··//˘/˘/˘· |
| That sobbed religiously in yearning song, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| That watched to ease the burden of the world, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Laboriously tracing what must be, | 10 | ˘/˘˘˘/˘··· |
| And what may yet be better—saw within | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A worthier image for the sanctuary, | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘·˘ |
| And shaped it forth before the multitude | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Divinely human, raising worship so | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| To higher reverence more mixed with love— | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| That better self shall live till human Time | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Shall fold its eyelids, and the human sky | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Be gathered like a scroll within the tomb | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Unread forever. | 5 | ˘/˘/˘ |
| This is life to come, | 5 | ····· |
| Which martyred men have made more glorious | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| For us who strive to follow. May I reach | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That purest heaven, be to other souls | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The cup of strength in some great agony, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Beget the smiles that have no cruelty— | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And in diffusion ever more intense. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| So shall I join the choir invisible | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Whose music is the gladness of the world. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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