In a Churchyard
There may be seeming calm above, but no!--There is a pulse below which ceases not,A subterranean working, fiery hot,Deep in the million-hearted bosom, thoughEarthquakes unlock not the prodigious showOf elemental conflict; and this spotNurses most quiet bones which lie and rot,And here the humblest weeds take root and grow.There is a calm upon the mighty sea,Yet are its depths alive and full of being,Enormous bulks that move unwieldily;Yet, pore we on it, they are past our seeing!--From the deep sea-weed fields, though wide and ample,Comes there no rushing sound: these do not trample!
Words in this poem
- unlock v. t.
- To unfasten, as what is locked; as, to unlock a door or a chest. [Cf. AS. unl. See 1st Un-, and Lock, v. t.]
- prodigious a.
- Of the nature of a prodigy; marvelous; wonderful; portentous. [L. prodigiosus, fr. prodigium a prodigy; cf. F. prodigieux. See Prodigy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In a Churchyard is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, In a Churchyard, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/in-a-churchyard.html, id L22485.
Form and metre
In a Churchyard is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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 ABBAABBA-C-CDD noA · notB · hotB · thoughA · showA · spotB · rotB · growA · sea · beingC · unwieldily · seeingC · ampleD · trampleD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There may be seeming calm above, but no!-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| There is a pulse below which ceases not, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A subterranean working, fiery hot, | 10 | ·˘/˘/˘/˘˘· |
| Deep in the million-hearted bosom, though | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Earthquakes unlock not the prodigious show | 10 | /·˘/··˘/˘· |
| Of elemental conflict; and this spot | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Nurses most quiet bones which lie and rot, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And here the humblest weeds take root and grow. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| There is a calm upon the mighty sea, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Yet are its depths alive and full of being, | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| Enormous bulks that move unwieldily; | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Yet, pore we on it, they are past our seeing!-- | 11 | ········//˘ |
| From the deep sea-weed fields, though wide and ample, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Comes there no rushing sound: these do not trample! | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
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.