The Impercipient (At a Cathedral Service)
THAT from this bright believing bandAn outcast I should be,That faiths by which my comrades standSeem fantasies to me,And mirage-mists their Shining Land,Is a drear destiny.
Why thus my soul should be consignedTo infelicity,Why always I must feel as blindTo sights my brethren see,Why joys they’ve found I cannot find,Abides a mystery.
Since heart of mine knows not that easeWhich they know; since it beThat He who breathes All’s Well to theseBreathes no All’s-Well to me,My lack might move their sympathiesAnd Christian charity!
I am like a gazer who should markAn inland companyStanding upfingered, with, “Hark! hark!The glorious distant sea!”And feel, “Alas, ’tis but yon darkAnd wind-swept pine to me!”
Yet I would bear my shortcomingsWith meet tranquillity,But for the charge that blessed thingsI’d liefer have unbe.O, doth a bird deprived of wingsGo earth-bound wilfully!
Enough. As yet disquiet clingsAbout us. Rest shall we.
Words in this poem
- outcast a.
- Cast out; degraded. [Cf. Sw. utkasta to cast out.]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
- infelicity n.
- The state or quality of being infelicitous; unhappiness; misery; wretchedness; misfortune; want of suitableness or appropriateness. I. [L. infelicitas: cf. F. infélicité. See In- not, and Felicity.]
- 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.]
- unbe v. t.
- To cause not to be; to cause to be another. [1st pref. un- + be.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Impercipient (At a Cathedral Service) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wessex Poems and Other Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #3167; 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 Impercipient (At a Cathedral Service), in Wessex Poems and Other Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3167, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-wessex-poems/the-impercipient-at-a-cathedral-service.html, id L04477.
Form and metre
The Impercipient (At a Cathedral Service) is 32 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 47% 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 ABABA- bandA · beB · standA · meB · landA · destiny
- 2 A-A-A- consignedA · infelicity · blindA · see · findA · mystery
- 3 ABABA- easeA · beB · theseA · meB · sympathiesA · charity
- 4 A-ABAB markA · company · harkA · seaB · darkA · meB
- 5 A-A-A- shortcomingsA · tranquillity · thingsA · unbe · wingsA · wilfully
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THAT from this bright believing band | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| An outcast I should be, | 6 | ·/···· |
| That faiths by which my comrades stand | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Seem fantasies to me, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| And mirage-mists their Shining Land, | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| Is a drear destiny. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Why thus my soul should be consigned | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To infelicity, | 6 | ······ |
| Why always I must feel as blind | 8 | ·/······ |
| To sights my brethren see, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Why joys they’ve found I cannot find, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Abides a mystery. | 6 | ˘/·/˘˘ |
| Since heart of mine knows not that ease | 8 | ········ |
| Which they know; since it be | 6 | ······ |
| That He who breathes All’s Well to these | 8 | ········ |
| Breathes no All’s-Well to me, | 6 | ······ |
| My lack might move their sympathies | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And Christian charity! | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| I am like a gazer who should mark | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| An inland company | 6 | ·/·/˘˘ |
| Standing upfingered, with, “Hark! hark! | 8 | /˘······ |
| The glorious distant sea!” | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And feel, “Alas, ’tis but yon dark | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And wind-swept pine to me!” | 6 | ······ |
| Yet I would bear my shortcomings | 8 | ·····/·˘ |
| With meet tranquillity, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| But for the charge that blessed things | 7 | ······· |
| I’d liefer have unbe. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| O, doth a bird deprived of wings | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Go earth-bound wilfully! | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Enough. As yet disquiet clings | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| About us. Rest shall we. | 6 | ······ |
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