The Church-Builder
THE church flings forth a battled shadeOver the moon-blanched sward;The church; my gift; whereto I paidMy all in hand and hoard:Lavished my gainsWith stintless painsTo glorify the Lord.
I squared the broad foundations inOf ashlared masonry;I moulded mullions thick and thin,Hewed fillet and ogee;I circletedEach sculptured headWith nimb and canopy.
I called in many a craftsmasterTo fix emblazoned glass,To figure Cross and SepulchreOn dossal, boss, and brass.My gold all spent,My jewels wentTo gem the cups of Mass.
I borrowed deep to carve the screenAnd raise the ivoried Rood;I parted with my small demesneTo make my owings good.Heir-looms unpricedI sacrificed,Until debt-free I stood.
So closed the task. “Deathless the CreedHere substanced!” said my soul:“I heard me bidden to this deed,And straight obeyed the call.Illume this fane,That not in vainI build it, Lord of all!”
But, as it chanced me, then and thereDid dire misfortunes burst;My home went waste for lack of care,My sons rebelled and curst;Till I confessedThat aims the bestWere looking like the worst.
Enkindled by my votive workNo burning faith I find;The deeper thinkers sneer and smirk,And give my toil no mind;From nod and winkI read they thinkThat I am fool and blind.
My gift to God seems futile, quite;The world moves as erstwhile;And powerful wrong on feeble rightTramples in olden style.My faith burns down,I see no crown;But Cares, and Griefs, and Guile.
So now, the remedy? Yea, this:I gently swing the doorHere, of my fane—no soul to wis—And cross the patterned floorTo the rood-screenThat stands betweenThe nave and inner chore.
The rich red windows dim the moon,But little light need I;I mount the prie-dieu, lately hewnFrom woods of rarest dye;Then from belowMy garment, so,I draw this cord, and tie
One end thereof around the beamMidway ’twixt Cross and truss:I noose the nethermost extreme,And in ten seconds thusI journey hence—To that land whenceNo rumour reaches us.
Well: Here at morn they’ll light on oneDangling in mockeryOf what he spent his substance onBlindly and uselessly! . . .“He might,” they’ll say,“Have built, some way.A cheaper gallows-tree!”
Words in this poem 24
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- stintless a.
- Without stint or restraint.
- glorify v. t.
- To make glorious by bestowing glory upon; to confer honor and distinction upon; to elevate to power or happiness, or to celestial glory. [F. glorifier, L. glorificare; gloria glory + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
- ogee n.
- A molding, the section of which is the form of the letter S, with the convex part above; cyma reversa. See Illust. under Cyma. [F. ogive, augive, LL. augiva, of uncertain origin; cf.LL. ogis a support, prop. L. augere to increase, strengthen, Sp. auge highest point of power or fortune, a]
- craftsmaster n.
- One skilled in his craft or trade; one of superior cunning.
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- rood n.
- A representation in sculpture or in painting of the cross with Christ hanging on it. [AS. rr, D. roede rod, G. ruthe, rute, OHG. ruota. CF. Rod a measure.]
- unpriced a.
- Not priced; being without a fixed or certain value; also, priceless.
- deathless a.
- Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
- illume v. t.
- To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- curst a.
- Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [SeeCurse.]
- votive a.
- Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet. [L. votivus, fr. votum a vow: cf. F. votif. See Vow.]
- futile a.
- Talkative; loquacious; tattling. [L. futilis that easily pours out, that easily lets loose, vain, worthless, from the root of fundere to pour out: cf. F. futile. See Fuse, v. t.]
- erstwhile adv.
- Till then or now; heretofore; formerly.
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- chore n.
- A choir or chorus. B. Jonson.
- midway n.
- The middle of the way or distance; a middle way or course.
- nethermost a.
- Lowest; as, the nethermost abyss. [AS. ni(Nether, and cf. Aftermost.]
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Church-Builder 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, The Church-Builder, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/the-church-builder.html, id L16939.
Form and metre
The Church-Builder is 84 lines in 12 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCB, complete in 7 of its 12 stanzas. 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCCB shadeA · swardB · paidA · hoardB · gainsC · painsC · lordB
- 2 A-A---- inA · masonry · thinA · ogee · circleted · head · canopy
- 3 -A-ABBA craftsmaster · glassA · sepulchre · brassA · spentB · wentB · massA
- 4 ---ABBA screen · rood · demesne · goodA · unpricedB · sacrificedB · stoodA
- 5 A-ABCCB creedA · soul · deedA · callB · faneC · vainC · allB
- 6 ABABCCB thereA · burstB · careA · curstB · confessedC · bestC · worstB
- 7 ABABCCB workA · findB · smirkA · mindB · winkC · thinkC · blindB
- 8 ABABCCB quiteA · erstwhileB · rightA · styleB · downC · crownC · guileB
- 9 ABABCCB thisA · doorB · wisA · floorB · screenC · betweenC · choreB
- 10 ABABCCB moonA · iB · hewnA · dyeB · belowC · soC · tieB
- 11 ABABCCB beamA · trussB · extremeA · thusB · henceC · whenceC · usB
- 12 ----AA- one · mockery · on · uselessly · sayA · wayA · tree
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THE church flings forth a battled shade | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Over the moon-blanched sward; | 6 | ······ |
| The church; my gift; whereto I paid | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| My all in hand and hoard: | 6 | ······ |
| Lavished my gains | 4 | /˘·· |
| With stintless pains | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To glorify the Lord. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I squared the broad foundations in | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Of ashlared masonry; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| I moulded mullions thick and thin, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hewed fillet and ogee; | 6 | ·˘/·˘/ |
| I circleted | 4 | ···· |
| Each sculptured head | 4 | ·/˘· |
| With nimb and canopy. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| I called in many a craftsmaster | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| To fix emblazoned glass, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| To figure Cross and Sepulchre | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| On dossal, boss, and brass. | 6 | ······ |
| My gold all spent, | 4 | ···· |
| My jewels went | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To gem the cups of Mass. | 6 | ······ |
| I borrowed deep to carve the screen | 8 | ·/······ |
| And raise the ivoried Rood; | 6 | ······ |
| I parted with my small demesne | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To make my owings good. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Heir-looms unpriced | 4 | ··˘/ |
| I sacrificed, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Until debt-free I stood. | 6 | ······ |
| So closed the task. “Deathless the Creed | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Here substanced!” said my soul: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “I heard me bidden to this deed, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And straight obeyed the call. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Illume this fane, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| That not in vain | 4 | ···· |
| I build it, Lord of all!” | 6 | ······ |
| But, as it chanced me, then and there | 8 | ········ |
| Did dire misfortunes burst; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| My home went waste for lack of care, | 8 | ········ |
| My sons rebelled and curst; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Till I confessed | 4 | ··˘/ |
| That aims the best | 4 | ···· |
| Were looking like the worst. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Enkindled by my votive work | 7 | ····/˘· |
| No burning faith I find; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The deeper thinkers sneer and smirk, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And give my toil no mind; | 6 | ······ |
| From nod and wink | 4 | ···· |
| I read they think | 4 | ···· |
| That I am fool and blind. | 6 | ······ |
| My gift to God seems futile, quite; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The world moves as erstwhile; | 6 | ····/· |
| And powerful wrong on feeble right | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Tramples in olden style. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| My faith burns down, | 4 | ···· |
| I see no crown; | 4 | ···· |
| But Cares, and Griefs, and Guile. | 6 | ······ |
| So now, the remedy? Yea, this: | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| I gently swing the door | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Here, of my fane—no soul to wis— | 8 | ········ |
| And cross the patterned floor | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To the rood-screen | 4 | ···· |
| That stands between | 4 | ···· |
| The nave and inner chore. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The rich red windows dim the moon, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But little light need I; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I mount the prie-dieu, lately hewn | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From woods of rarest dye; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Then from below | 4 | ···· |
| My garment, so, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| I draw this cord, and tie | 6 | ······ |
| One end thereof around the beam | 8 | ········ |
| Midway ’twixt Cross and truss: | 6 | /····· |
| I noose the nethermost extreme, | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| And in ten seconds thus | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I journey hence— | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To that land whence | 4 | ···· |
| No rumour reaches us. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Well: Here at morn they’ll light on one | 8 | ········ |
| Dangling in mockery | 7 | /˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Of what he spent his substance on | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Blindly and uselessly! . . . | 7 | /˘····· |
| “He might,” they’ll say, | 4 | ···· |
| “Have built, some way. | 4 | ···· |
| A cheaper gallows-tree!” | 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.