Israel
When by Jabbok the patriarch waitedTo learn on the morrow his doom,And his dubious spirit debatedIn darkness and silence and gloom,There descended a Being with whomHe wrestled in agony sore,With striving of heart and of brawn,And not for an instant forboreTill the east gave a threat of the dawn;And then, as the Awful One blessed him,To his lips and his spirit there came,Compelled by the doubts that oppressed him,The cry that through questioning agesHas been wrung from the hinds and the sages,"Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name!"
Most fatal, most futile, of questions!Wherever the heart of man beats,In the spirit's most sacred retreats,It comes with its sombre suggestions,Unanswered for ever and aye.The blessing may come and may stay,For the wrestlers heroic endeavour;But the question, unheeded for ever,Dies out in the broadening day.
In the ages before our traditions,By the altars of dark superstitions,The imperious question has come;When the death-stricken victim lay sobbingAt the feet of his slayer and priest,And his heart was laid smoking and throbbingTo the sound of the cymbal and drumOn the steps of the high Teocallis;When the delicate Greek at his feastPoured forth the red wine from his chaliceWith mocking and cynical prayer;When by Nile Egypt worshipping lay,And afar, through the rosy, flushed airThe Memnon called out to the day;Where the Muezzin's cry floats from his spire;In the vaulted Cathedral's dim shades,Where the crushed hearts of thousands aspireThrough arts highest miracles higher,This question of questions invadesEach heart bowed in worship or shame;In the air where the censers are swinging,A voice, going up with the singing,Cries, "Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name!"
No answer came back, not a word,To the patriarch there by the ford;No answer has come through the agesTo the poets, the seers, and the sagesWho have sought in the secrets of scienceThe name and the nature of God,Whether cursing in desperate defianceOr kissing His absolute rod;But the answer which was and shall be,"My name! Nay, what is it to thee?"The search and the question are vain.By use of the strength that is in you,By wrestling of soul and of sinewThe blessing of God you may gain.
There are lights in the far-gleaming HeavenThat never will shine on our eyes;To mortals it may not be givenTo range those inviolate skies.The mind, whether praying or scorning,That tempts those dread secrets shall fail;But strive through the night till the morning,And mightily shalt thou prevail.
Words in this poem 23
- dubious a.
- Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See Two, and cf. Doubt.]
- brawn n.
- A muscle; flesh. [OF. braon fleshy part, muscle, fr. HG. br flesh, G. braten roast meat; akin to Icel. br flesh, food of beasts, AS. brbr to roast, G. braten, and possibly to E. ]
- 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.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- sombre n.
- Gloom; obscurity; duskiness; somberness.
- unanswered a.
- Not answered; not replied; as, an unanswered letter.
- endeavour v. t.
- To exert physical or intellectual strength for the attainment of; to use efforts to effect; to strive to achieve or reach; to try; to attempt. [OE. endevor; pref. en- + dever, devoir, duty, F. devoir: cf. F. se mettre en devoir de faire quelque chose to try to do a thing, to go about it. See Devoir, Deb]
- imperious a.
- Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [L. imperiosus: cf. F. impérieux. See Imperial.]
- stricken p. p.
- Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
- sobbing n.
- A series of short, convulsive inspirations, the glottis being suddenly closed so that little or no air enters into the lungs.
- slayer n.
- One who slays; a killer; a murderer; a destrroyer of life.
- cymbal n.
- A musical instrument used by the ancients. It is supposed to have been similar to the modern kettle drum, though perhaps smaller. [OE. cimbale, simbale, OF. cimbale, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. kubha pot. Cf. Chime.]
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- cynical a.
- Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish. [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. Hound.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- memnon n.
- A celebrated Egyptian statue near Thebes, said to have the property of emitting a harplike sound at sunrise.
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- desperate a.
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
- 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,]
- sinew n.
- A tendon or tendonous tissue. See Tendon. [OE. sinewe, senewe, AS. sinu, seonu; akin to D. zenuw, OHG. senawa, G. sehne, Icel. sin, Sw. sena, Dan. sene; cf. Skr. snava. sq. root290.]
- inviolate a.
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
- mightily adv.
- In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully. [From Mighty.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Israel is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pike County Ballads and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6062; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Hay, Israel, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/israel.html, id L21614.
Form and metre
Israel is 69 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in anapaestic 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 ABABBCDCDEFEGGF waitedA · doomB · debatedA · gloomB · whomB · soreC · brawnD · forboreC · dawnD · himE · cameF · himE · agesG · sagesG · nameF
- 2 ABBA-CDDC questionsA · beatsB · retreatsB · suggestionsA · aye · stayC · endeavourD · everD · dayC
- 3 AABCDCBEDEFGFGHIH-IJKKJ traditionsA · superstitionsA · comeB · sobbingC · priestD · throbbingC · drumB · teocallisE · feastD · chaliceE · prayerF · layG · airF · dayG · spireH · shadesI · aspireH · higher · invadesI · shameJ · swingingK · singingK · nameJ
- 4 --AABCBCDDEFFE word · ford · agesA · sagesA · scienceB · godC · defianceB · rodC · beD · theeD · vainE · youF · sinewF · gainE
- 5 -A-ABCBC heaven · eyesA · given · skiesA · scorningB · failC · morningB · prevailC
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When by Jabbok the patriarch waited | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| To learn on the morrow his doom, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And his dubious spirit debated | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| In darkness and silence and gloom, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| There descended a Being with whom | 8 | ·˘/˘·/·· |
| He wrestled in agony sore, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| With striving of heart and of brawn, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And not for an instant forbore | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| Till the east gave a threat of the dawn; | 9 | ········· |
| And then, as the Awful One blessed him, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| To his lips and his spirit there came, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Compelled by the doubts that oppressed him, | 9 | ˘/····˘/· |
| The cry that through questioning ages | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Has been wrung from the hinds and the sages, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| "Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name!" | 7 | ······· |
| Most fatal, most futile, of questions! | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Wherever the heart of man beats, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| In the spirit's most sacred retreats, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| It comes with its sombre suggestions, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Unanswered for ever and aye. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| The blessing may come and may stay, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For the wrestlers heroic endeavour; | 10 | ··/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| But the question, unheeded for ever, | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘·/ |
| Dies out in the broadening day. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| In the ages before our traditions, | 10 | ··/˘··/˘/˘ |
| By the altars of dark superstitions, | 10 | ··/˘···˘/˘ |
| The imperious question has come; | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘·· |
| When the death-stricken victim lay sobbing | 10 | ···/˘/˘·/˘ |
| At the feet of his slayer and priest, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| And his heart was laid smoking and throbbing | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| To the sound of the cymbal and drum | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| On the steps of the high Teocallis; | 9 | ········· |
| When the delicate Greek at his feast | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Poured forth the red wine from his chalice | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| With mocking and cynical prayer; | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| When by Nile Egypt worshipping lay, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And afar, through the rosy, flushed air | 9 | ·˘/··/˘·· |
| The Memnon called out to the day; | 8 | ·/······ |
| Where the Muezzin's cry floats from his spire; | 9 | ········· |
| In the vaulted Cathedral's dim shades, | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘·· |
| Where the crushed hearts of thousands aspire | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| Through arts highest miracles higher, | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| This question of questions invades | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Each heart bowed in worship or shame; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| In the air where the censers are swinging, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| A voice, going up with the singing, | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Cries, "Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name!" | 8 | ········ |
| No answer came back, not a word, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To the patriarch there by the ford; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| No answer has come through the ages | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| To the poets, the seers, and the sages | 10 | ··/˘····/˘ |
| Who have sought in the secrets of science | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| The name and the nature of God, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Whether cursing in desperate defiance | 10 | ··/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Or kissing His absolute rod; | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| But the answer which was and shall be, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| "My name! Nay, what is it to thee?" | 8 | ········ |
| The search and the question are vain. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| By use of the strength that is in you, | 9 | ········· |
| By wrestling of soul and of sinew | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| The blessing of God you may gain. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There are lights in the far-gleaming Heaven | 9 | ······/˘/ |
| That never will shine on our eyes; | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| To mortals it may not be given | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| To range those inviolate skies. | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| The mind, whether praying or scorning, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| That tempts those dread secrets shall fail; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| But strive through the night till the morning, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And mightily shalt thou prevail. | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
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.