The Problem
SHALL we conceal the Case, or tell it—We who believe the evidence?Here and there the watch-towers knell itWith a sullen significance,Heard of the few who hearken intently and carry an eagerly upstrainedsense.
Hearts that are happiest hold not by it;Better we let, then, the old view reign;Since there is peace in it, why decry it?Since there is comfort, why disdain?Note not the pigment the while that the painting determines humanity’sjoy and pain!
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- intently adv.
- In an intent manner; as, the eyes intently fixed.
- decry v. t.
- To cry down; to censure as faulty, mean, or worthless; to clamor against; to blame clamorously; to discredit; to disparage. [F. décrier, OF. descrier; pref. des- (L. dis-) + crier to cry. See Cry, and cf. Descry.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Problem 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 Problem, 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-problem.html, id L16877.
Form and metre
The Problem is 12 lines in 2 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is dactylic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic 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 ABAB-B itA · evidenceB · itA · significanceB · upstrained · senseB
- 2 ABAB-B itA · reignB · itA · disdainB · humanity's · painB
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 dactylic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| SHALL we conceal the Case, or tell it— | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| We who believe the evidence? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘˘ |
| Here and there the watch-towers knell it | 8 | ·····/·· |
| With a sullen significance, | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Heard of the few who hearken intently and carry an eagerly upstrained | 18 | ·····/˘˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| sense. | 1 | · |
| Hearts that are happiest hold not by it; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Better we let, then, the old view reign; | 9 | /˘······· |
| Since there is peace in it, why decry it? | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Since there is comfort, why disdain? | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Note not the pigment the while that the painting determines humanity’s | 17 | ···/˘····/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| joy and pain! | 3 | ··· |
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.