Moments of Vision
THAT mirrorWhich makes of men a transparency,Who holds that mirrorAnd bids us such a breast-bare spectacle seeOf you and me?
That mirrorWhose magic penetrates like a dart,Who lifts that mirrorAnd throws our mind back on us, and our heart,Until we start?
That mirrorWorks well in these night hours of ache;Why in that mirrorAre tincts we never see ourselves once takeWhen the world is awake?
That mirrorCan test each mortal when unaware;Yea, that strange mirrorMay catch his last thoughts, whole life foul or fair,Glassing it—where?
Words in this poem
- ache n.
- A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
- unaware a.
- Not aware; not noticing; giving no heed; thoughtless; inattentive.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Moments of Vision 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, Moments of Vision, in Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3255, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-moments-of-vision/moments-of-vision.html, id L24099.
Form and metre
Moments of Vision is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 A-ABB mirrorA · transparency · mirrorA · seeB · meB
- 2 ABABB mirrorA · dartB · mirrorA · heartB · startB
- 3 ABABB mirrorA · acheB · mirrorA · takeB · awakeB
- 4 ABABB mirrorA · unawareB · mirrorA · fairB · whereB
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THAT mirror | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Which makes of men a transparency, | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| Who holds that mirror | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And bids us such a breast-bare spectacle see | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of you and me? | 4 | ···· |
| That mirror | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Whose magic penetrates like a dart, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Who lifts that mirror | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And throws our mind back on us, and our heart, | 10 | ··/·····/· |
| Until we start? | 4 | ···· |
| That mirror | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Works well in these night hours of ache; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Why in that mirror | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Are tincts we never see ourselves once take | 9 | ···/·˘/·· |
| When the world is awake? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| That mirror | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Can test each mortal when unaware; | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| Yea, that strange mirror | 5 | ···/˘ |
| May catch his last thoughts, whole life foul or fair, | 10 | ·········· |
| Glassing it—where? | 4 | /˘·· |
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.