The Sower
Soon will the lonesome cricket by the stoneBegin to hush the night; and lightly blownField fragrances will fill the fading blue—Old furrow-scents that ancient Eden knew.Soon in the upper twilight will be heardThe winging whisper of a homing bird.
Who is it coming on the slant brown slope,Touched by the twilight and her mournful hope—Coming with hero step, with rhythmic swing,Where all the bodily motions weave and sing?The grief of the ground is in him, yet the powerOf Earth to hide the furrow with the flower.
He is the stone rejected, yet the stoneWhereon is built metropolis and throne.Out of his toil come all their pompous shows,Their purple luxury and plush repose!
The grime of this bruised hand keeps tender whiteThe hands that never labor, day nor night.His feet that know only the field’s rough floorsSend lordly steps down echoing corridors.
Yea, this vicarious toiler at the plowGives that fine pallor to my lady’s brow.And idle armies with their boom and blare,Flinging their foolish glory on the air—He hides their nakedness, he gives them bed,And by his alms their hungry mouths are fed.
Not his the lurching of an aimless clod,For with the august gesture of a god—A gesture that is question and command—He hurls the bread of nations from his hand;And in the passion of the gesture flingsHis fierce resentment in the face of kings.
This is the Earth-god of the latter day,Treading with solemn joy the upward way;A lusty god that in some crowning hourWill hurl Gray Privilege from the place of power.These are the inevitable steps that makeUnreason tremble and Tradition shake.This is the World-Will climbing to its goal,The climb of the unconquerable Soul—Democracy whose sure insurgent strideJars kingdoms to their ultimate stone of pride.
Words in this poem 19
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- homing a.
- Home-returning; -- used specifically of carrier pigeons.
- rhythmic a.
- Pertaining to, or of the nature of, rhythm DAy and night I worked my rhythmic thought. Mrs. Browning. [Gr. rhythmicus, F. rhythmique.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- plush n.
- A textile fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. [F. pluche, peluche (cf. It. peluzzo), fr. L. pilus hair. See pile hair, and cf. Peruke.]
- grime n.
- Foul matter; dirt, rubbed in; sullying blackness, deeply ingrained. [Cf. Dan. grim, griim, lampblack, soot, grime, Icel. gr mask, sort of hood, OD. grijmsel, grimsel, soot, smut, and E. grimace.]
- vicarious a.
- Of or pertaining to a vicar, substitute, or deputy; deputed; delegated; as, vicarious power or authority. [L. vicarius, from vicis change, alternation, turn, the position, place, or office of one person as assumed by another; akin to Gr. wechsel a change, and probabl]
- toiler n.
- One who toils, or labors painfully.
- pallor n.
- Paleness; want of color; pallidity; as, pallor of the complexion. Jer. Taylor. [L., fr. pallere to be or look pale. See Pale, a.]
- blare v. i.
- To sound loudly and somewhat harshly. [OE. blaren, bloren, to cry, woop; cf. G. plärren to bleat, D. blaren to bleat, cry, weep. Prob. an imitative word, but cf. also E. blast. Cf. Blore.]
- nakedness n.
- The condition of being naked.
- aimless a.
- Without aim or purpose; as, an aimless life.
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
- unreason v. t.
- To undo, disprove, or refute by reasoning. [1st pref. un- + reason.]
- unconquerable a.
- Not conquerable; indomitable.
- insurgent a.
- Rising in opposition to civil or political authority, or against an established government; insubordinate; rebellious. [L. insurgens, p. pr. of insurgere to rise up; pref. in- in + surgere to rise. See Surge.]
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sower is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lincoln & other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54527; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edwin Markham, The Sower, in Lincoln and Other Poems (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54527, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/markham-lincoln/the-sower.html, id L10782.
Form and metre
The Sower is 42 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCC stoneA · blownA · blueB · knewB · heardC · birdC
- 2 AABBCC slopeA · hopeA · swingB · singB · powerC · flowerC
- 3 AABB stoneA · throneA · showsB · reposeB
- 4 AA-- whiteA · nightA · floors · corridors
- 5 AABBCC plowA · browA · blareB · airB · bedC · fedC
- 6 AABBCC clodA · godA · commandB · handB · flingsC · kingsC
- 7 AABBCCDDEE dayA · wayA · hourB · powerB · makeC · shakeC · goalD · soulD · strideE · prideE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Soon will the lonesome cricket by the stone | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Begin to hush the night; and lightly blown | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Field fragrances will fill the fading blue— | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| Old furrow-scents that ancient Eden knew. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Soon in the upper twilight will be heard | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| The winging whisper of a homing bird. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Who is it coming on the slant brown slope, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Touched by the twilight and her mournful hope— | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Coming with hero step, with rhythmic swing, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Where all the bodily motions weave and sing? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The grief of the ground is in him, yet the power | 11 | ··········/ |
| Of Earth to hide the furrow with the flower. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| He is the stone rejected, yet the stone | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Whereon is built metropolis and throne. | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘˘·· |
| Out of his toil come all their pompous shows, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Their purple luxury and plush repose! | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| The grime of this bruised hand keeps tender white | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The hands that never labor, day nor night. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| His feet that know only the field’s rough floors | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Send lordly steps down echoing corridors. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Yea, this vicarious toiler at the plow | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Gives that fine pallor to my lady’s brow. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And idle armies with their boom and blare, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Flinging their foolish glory on the air— | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| He hides their nakedness, he gives them bed, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| And by his alms their hungry mouths are fed. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Not his the lurching of an aimless clod, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For with the august gesture of a god— | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| A gesture that is question and command— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| He hurls the bread of nations from his hand; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And in the passion of the gesture flings | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| His fierce resentment in the face of kings. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| This is the Earth-god of the latter day, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Treading with solemn joy the upward way; | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| A lusty god that in some crowning hour | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Will hurl Gray Privilege from the place of power. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| These are the inevitable steps that make | 10 | ···˘/˘˘··· |
| Unreason tremble and Tradition shake. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| This is the World-Will climbing to its goal, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The climb of the unconquerable Soul— | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘· |
| Democracy whose sure insurgent stride | 10 | ˘/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| Jars kingdoms to their ultimate stone of pride. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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