God’s Funeral
I saw a slowly-stepping train—Lined on the brows, scoop-eyed and bent and hoar—Following in files across a twilit plainA strange and mystic form the foremost bore.
And by contagious throbs of thoughtOr latent knowledge that within me layAnd had already stirred me, I was wroughtTo consciousness of sorrow even as they.
The fore-borne shape, to my blurred eyes,At first seemed man-like, and anon to changeTo an amorphous cloud of marvellous size,At times endowed with wings of glorious range.
And this phantasmal variousnessEver possessed it as they drew along:Yet throughout all it symboled none the lessPotency vast and loving-kindness strong.
Almost before I knew I bentTowards the moving columns without a word;They, growing in bulk and numbers as they went,Struck out sick thoughts that could be overheard:—
“O man-projected Figure, of lateImaged as we, thy knell who shall survive?Whence came it we were tempted to createOne whom we can no longer keep alive?
“Framing him jealous, fierce, at first,We gave him justice as the ages rolled,Will to bless those by circumstance accurst,And longsuffering, and mercies manifold.
“And, tricked by our own early dreamAnd need of solace, we grew self-deceived,Our making soon our maker did we deem,And what we had imagined we believed.
“Till, in Time’s stayless stealthy swing,Uncompromising rude realityMangled the Monarch of our fashioning,Who quavered, sank; and now has ceased to be.
“So, toward our myth’s oblivion,Darkling, and languid-lipped, we creep and gropeSadlier than those who wept in Babylon,Whose Zion was a still abiding hope.
“How sweet it was in years far hiedTo start the wheels of day with trustful prayer,To lie down liegely at the eventideAnd feel a blest assurance he was there!
“And who or what shall fill his place?Whither will wanderers turn distracted eyesFor some fixed star to stimulate their paceTowards the goal of their enterprise?” . . .
Some in the background then I saw,Sweet women, youths, men, all incredulous,Who chimed as one: “This figure is of straw,This requiem mockery! Still he lives to us!”
I could not prop their faith: and yetMany I had known: with all I sympathized;And though struck speechless, I did not forgetThat what was mourned for, I, too, once had prized.
Still, how to bear such loss I deemedThe insistent question for each animate mind,And gazing, to my growing sight there seemedA pale yet positive gleam low down behind,
Whereof to lift the general night,A certain few who stood aloof had said,“See you upon the horizon that small light—Swelling somewhat?” Each mourner shook his head.
And they composed a crowd of whomSome were right good, and many nigh the best . . .Thus dazed and puzzled ’twixt the gleam and gloomMechanically I followed with the rest.
Words in this poem 26
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- phantasmal a.
- Pertaining to, of the nature of, or resembling, a phantasm; spectral; illusive.
- potency n.
- The quality or state of being potent; physical or moral power; inherent strength; energy; ability to effect a purpose; capability; efficacy; influence. [L. potentia, from potens, -entis, potent. See Potent, and cf. Potance, Potence, Puissance.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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,]
- accurst p. p.
- Doomed to destruction or misery; cursed; hence, bad enough to be under the curse; execrable; detestable; exceedingly hateful; -- as, an accursed deed.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- stayless a.
- Without stop or delay. Mir. for Mag.
- uncompromising a.
- Not admitting of compromise; making no truce or concessions; obstinate; unyielding; inflexible.
- oblivion n.
- The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- zion n.
- A hill in Jerusalem, which, after the capture of that city by the Israelites, became the royal residence of David and his successors. [Heb. tsiy, originally, a hill.]
- trustful a.
- Full of trust; trusting.
- eventide n.
- The time of evening; evening. [AS. æfentid. See Tide.]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- incredulous a.
- Not credulous; indisposed to admit or accept that which is related as true, skeptical; unbelieving. [L. incredulus. See In- not, and Credulous.]
- requiem n.
- A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul. [Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. S]
- speechless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech.
- insistent a.
- Standing or resting on something; as, an insistent wall. Sir H. [L. insistens, -entis, p. pr. of insistere.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- mourner n.
- One who mourns or is grieved at any misfortune, as the death of a friend.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- mechanically adv.
- In a mechanical manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
God’s Funeral is in the public domain. This text is taken from Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries, with Miscellaneous Pieces, Project Gutenberg ebook #2863; 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, God’s Funeral, in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2863, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-satires/god-s-funeral.html, id L24016.
Form and metre
God’s Funeral is 68 lines in 17 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 15 of its 17 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 trainA · hoarB · plainA · boreB
- 2 ABAB thoughtA · layB · wroughtA · theyB
- 3 ABAB eyesA · changeB · sizeA · rangeB
- 4 ABAB variousnessA · alongB · lessA · strongB
- 5 ABAB bentA · wordB · wentA · overheardB
- 6 ABAB lateA · surviveB · createA · aliveB
- 7 ABAB firstA · rolledB · accurstA · manifoldB
- 8 ABAB dreamA · deceivedB · deemA · believedB
- 9 A-A- swingA · reality · fashioningA · be
- 10 ABAB oblivionA · gropeB · babylonA · hopeB
- 11 -A-A hied · prayerA · eventide · thereA
- 12 ABAB placeA · eyesB · paceA · enterpriseB
- 13 ABAB sawA · incredulousB · strawA · usB
- 14 ABAB yetA · sympathizedB · forgetA · prizedB
- 15 ABAB deemedA · mindB · seemedA · behindB
- 16 ABAB nightA · saidB · lightA · headB
- 17 ABAB whomA · bestB · gloomA · restB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I saw a slowly-stepping train— | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Lined on the brows, scoop-eyed and bent and hoar— | 10 | ·········· |
| Following in files across a twilit plain | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
| A strange and mystic form the foremost bore. | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| And by contagious throbs of thought | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Or latent knowledge that within me lay | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And had already stirred me, I was wrought | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| To consciousness of sorrow even as they. | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘/·· |
| The fore-borne shape, to my blurred eyes, | 9 | ·······˘· |
| At first seemed man-like, and anon to change | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| To an amorphous cloud of marvellous size, | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| At times endowed with wings of glorious range. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And this phantasmal variousness | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Ever possessed it as they drew along: | 10 | /˘˘/····˘/ |
| Yet throughout all it symboled none the less | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Potency vast and loving-kindness strong. | 10 | /˘˘··/˘/˘· |
| Almost before I knew I bent | 8 | /······· |
| Towards the moving columns without a word; | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| They, growing in bulk and numbers as they went, | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Struck out sick thoughts that could be overheard:— | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| “O man-projected Figure, of late | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| Imaged as we, thy knell who shall survive? | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| Whence came it we were tempted to create | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| One whom we can no longer keep alive? | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| “Framing him jealous, fierce, at first, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| We gave him justice as the ages rolled, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Will to bless those by circumstance accurst, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And longsuffering, and mercies manifold. | 9 | ·/˘·/˘/˘· |
| “And, tricked by our own early dream | 10 | ··˘·/˘·/˘· |
| And need of solace, we grew self-deceived, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Our making soon our maker did we deem, | 10 | //˘·//˘··· |
| And what we had imagined we believed. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| “Till, in Time’s stayless stealthy swing, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Uncompromising rude reality | 10 | ˘/˘˘˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Mangled the Monarch of our fashioning, | 11 | /˘·/··/˘/˘˘ |
| Who quavered, sank; and now has ceased to be. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| “So, toward our myth’s oblivion, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Darkling, and languid-lipped, we creep and grope | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Sadlier than those who wept in Babylon, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Whose Zion was a still abiding hope. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| “How sweet it was in years far hied | 8 | ········ |
| To start the wheels of day with trustful prayer, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To lie down liegely at the eventide | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| And feel a blest assurance he was there! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| “And who or what shall fill his place? | 8 | ········ |
| Whither will wanderers turn distracted eyes | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘· |
| For some fixed star to stimulate their pace | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Towards the goal of their enterprise?” . . . | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Some in the background then I saw, | 8 | ···/···· |
| Sweet women, youths, men, all incredulous, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| Who chimed as one: “This figure is of straw, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| This requiem mockery! Still he lives to us!” | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| I could not prop their faith: and yet | 8 | ········ |
| Many I had known: with all I sympathized; | 10 | /······/˘· |
| And though struck speechless, I did not forget | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| That what was mourned for, I, too, once had prized. | 10 | ·········· |
| Still, how to bear such loss I deemed | 9 | ········˘ |
| The insistent question for each animate mind, | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And gazing, to my growing sight there seemed | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| A pale yet positive gleam low down behind, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Whereof to lift the general night, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| A certain few who stood aloof had said, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| “See you upon the horizon that small light— | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| Swelling somewhat?” Each mourner shook his head. | 10 | /˘//·/˘··· |
| And they composed a crowd of whom | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Some were right good, and many nigh the best . . . | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thus dazed and puzzled ’twixt the gleam and gloom | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Mechanically I followed with the rest. | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
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