In a Whispering Gallery
THAT whisper takes the voiceOf a Spirit’s compassioningsClose, but invisible,And throws me under a spellAt the kindling vision it brings;And for a moment I rejoice,And believe in transcendent thingsThat would mould from this muddy earthA spot for the splendid birthOf everlasting lives,Whereto no night arrives;And this gaunt gray galleryA tabernacle of worthOn this drab-aired afternoon,When you can barely seeAcross its hazed lacuneIf opposite aught there beOf fleshed humanityWherewith I may commune;Or if the voice so nearBe a soul’s voice floating here.
Words in this poem
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- gaunt a.
- Attenuated, as with fasting or suffering; lean; meager; pinched and grim. [Cf. Norw. gand a thin pointed stick, a tall and thin man, and W. gwan weak.]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- lacune n.
- A lacuna. Landor. [F.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- fleshed a.
- Corpulent; fat; having flesh.
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- commune n.
- The commonalty; the common people. [F., fr. commun. See Common.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In a Whispering Gallery is in the public domain. This text is taken from Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3255; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hardy, In a Whispering Gallery, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/in-a-whispering-gallery.html, id L24214.
Form and metre
In a Whispering Gallery is 21 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABCCBABDDEE-DFGFG-FHH voiceA · compassioningsB · invisibleC · spellC · bringsB · rejoiceA · thingsB · earthD · birthD · livesE · arrivesE · gallery · worthD · afternoonF · seeG · lacuneF · beG · humanity · communeF · nearH · hereH
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THAT whisper takes the voice | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of a Spirit’s compassionings | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Close, but invisible, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| And throws me under a spell | 7 | ······· |
| At the kindling vision it brings; | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| And for a moment I rejoice, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And believe in transcendent things | 8 | ·˘/·˘/˘· |
| That would mould from this muddy earth | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A spot for the splendid birth | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of everlasting lives, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Whereto no night arrives; | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| And this gaunt gray gallery | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| A tabernacle of worth | 7 | ·/˘·˘·· |
| On this drab-aired afternoon, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| When you can barely see | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Across its hazed lacune | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| If opposite aught there be | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of fleshed humanity | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Wherewith I may commune; | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| Or if the voice so near | 6 | ······ |
| Be a soul’s voice floating here. | 7 | ····/˘· |
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.