The Present Age
Say not the age is hard and cold--I think it brave and grand;When men of diverse sects and creedsAre clasping hand in hand.
The Parsee from his sacred firesBeside the Christian kneels;And clearer light to Islam's eyesThe word of Christ reveals.
The Brahmin from his distant homeBrings thoughts of ancient lore;The Bhuddist breaking bonds of casteDivides mankind no more.
The meek-eyed sons of far CathayAre welcome round the board;Not greed, nor malice drives awayThese children of our Lord.
And Judah from whose trusted handsCame oracles divine;Now sits with those around whose heartsThe light of God doth shine.
Words in this poem
- parsee n.
- One of the adherents of the Zoroastrian or ancient Persian religion, descended from Persian refugees settled in India; a fire worshiper; a Gheber. [Hind. & Per. parsi a Persian, a follower of Zoroaster, a fire worshiper. Cf. Persian.]
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
- brahmin n.
- A person of the highest or sacerdotal caste among the Hindoos.
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Present Age is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #679; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, The Present Age, in Poems (1854–1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #679, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/harper-poems/the-present-age.html, id L10531.
Form and metre
The Present Age is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 45% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A cold · grandA · creeds · handA
- 2 ABAB firesA · kneelsB · eyesA · revealsB
- 3 -A-A home · loreA · caste · moreA
- 4 ABAB cathayA · boardB · awayA · lordB
- 5 -A-A hands · divineA · hearts · shineA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Say not the age is hard and cold-- | 8 | ········ |
| I think it brave and grand; | 6 | ······ |
| When men of diverse sects and creeds | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| Are clasping hand in hand. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Parsee from his sacred fires | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Beside the Christian kneels; | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| And clearer light to Islam's eyes | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| The word of Christ reveals. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The Brahmin from his distant home | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Brings thoughts of ancient lore; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Bhuddist breaking bonds of caste | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Divides mankind no more. | 6 | ˘///·· |
| The meek-eyed sons of far Cathay | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Are welcome round the board; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Not greed, nor malice drives away | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| These children of our Lord. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| And Judah from whose trusted hands | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Came oracles divine; | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| Now sits with those around whose hearts | 8 | ········ |
| The light of God doth shine. | 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.