Architectural Masks
THERE is a house with ivied walls,And mullioned windows worn and old,And the long dwellers in those hallsHave souls that know but sordid calls,And daily dote on gold.
In blazing brick and plated showNot far away a “villa” gleams,And here a family few may know,With book and pencil, viol and bow,Lead inner lives of dreams.
The philosophic passers say,“See that old mansion mossed and fair,Poetic souls therein are they:And O that gaudy box! Away,You vulgar people there.”
Words in this poem
- ivied a.
- Overgrown with ivy. [From Ivy.]
- sordid a.
- Filthy; foul; dirty. [L. sordidus, fr. sordere to be filthy or dirty; probably akin to E. swart: cf. F. sordide. See Swart, a.]
- dote n.
- A marriage portion. See 1st Dot, n. Wyatt. [See Dot dowry.]
- villa n.
- A country seat; a country or suburban residence of some pretensions to elegance. Dryden. [L. villa, LL. also village, dim. of L. vicus a village: cf. It. & F. villa. See Vicinity, and cf. Vill, Village, Villain.]
- philosophic a.
- Of or pertaining to philosophy; versed in, or imbued with, the principles of philosophy; hence, characterizing a philosopher; rational; wise; temperate; calm; cool. [L. philosophicus: cf. F. philosophique.]
- mansion n.
- A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Men]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Architectural Masks is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of the Past and the Present, Project Gutenberg ebook #3168; 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, Architectural Masks, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/architectural-masks.html, id L16930.
Form and metre
Architectural Masks is 15 lines in 3 stanzas of 5 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAAB wallsA · oldB · hallsA · callsA · goldB
- 2 ABAAB showA · gleamsB · knowA · bowA · dreamsB
- 3 ABAAB sayA · fairB · theyA · awayA · thereB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THERE is a house with ivied walls, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And mullioned windows worn and old, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And the long dwellers in those halls | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Have souls that know but sordid calls, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And daily dote on gold. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In blazing brick and plated show | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Not far away a “villa” gleams, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And here a family few may know, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With book and pencil, viol and bow, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Lead inner lives of dreams. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The philosophic passers say, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| “See that old mansion mossed and fair, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Poetic souls therein are they: | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And O that gaudy box! Away, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| You vulgar people there.” | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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.