The World-Purpose
Men sadly say that Love’s high dream is vain,That one force holds the heart—the hope of gain.Are, then, the August Powers behind the veilWeary of watch and powerless to prevail?Have they grown palsied with the creep of age,And do they burn no more with pallid rage?Are the shrines empty and the altars cold,Where once the saints and heroes knelt of old?
Not so: the vast in-brothering of man—The glory of the universe—beganWhen first the heart of the Mother Darkness heardThe Whisper, and the ancient chaos stirred.Ever the feet of Christ were in events,Bridging the seas, shaking the continents.
His feet are heard in the historic marchUnder the whirlwind, under the starry arch.Forever the Great Purpose presses on,From darkness unto darkness, dawn to dawn,Resolved to lay the rafter and the beamOf Justice—the imperishable Dream.
This is the voice of Time against the Hours;This is the witness of the Cosmic Powers;This is the Music of the Ages—thisThe song whose first note broke the First Abyss.
All that we glory in was once a dream;The World-Will marches onward, gleam by gleam.New voices speak, dead paths begin to stir:Man is emerging from the sepulchre!Let no man dare, let no man ever dareTo mark on Time’s great way, “No Thoroughfare!”
Words in this poem
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- palsied a.
- Affected with palsy; paralyzed.
- chaos n.
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
- bridging n.
- The system of bracing used between floor or other timbers to distribute the weight. Bridging joist. Same as Binding joist.
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- rafter n.
- Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [AS. ræfter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.]
- cosmic a.
- Pertaining to the universe, and having special reference to universal law or order, or to the one grand harmonious system of things; hence; harmonious; orderly. [Gr. kosmiko`s of the world, fr. ko`smos: cf. F. cosmique. See Cosmos.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- thoroughfare n.
- A passage through; a passage from one street or opening to another; an unobstructed way open to the public; a public road; hence, a frequented street. [AS. þurhfaru.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The World-Purpose 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 World-Purpose, in Lincoln and Other Poems (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54527, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/markham-lincoln/the-world-purpose.html, id L10817.
Form and metre
The World-Purpose is 30 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDD vainA · gainA · veilB · prevailB · ageC · rageC · coldD · oldD
- 2 AABBCC manA · beganA · heardB · stirredB · eventsC · continentsC
- 3 AABBCC marchA · archA · onB · dawnB · beamC · dreamC
- 4 AABB hoursA · powersA · thisB · abyssB
- 5 AA--BB dreamA · gleamA · stir · sepulchre · dareB · thoroughfareB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Men sadly say that Love’s high dream is vain, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That one force holds the heart—the hope of gain. | 10 | ·········· |
| Are, then, the August Powers behind the veil | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Weary of watch and powerless to prevail? | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Have they grown palsied with the creep of age, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And do they burn no more with pallid rage? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Are the shrines empty and the altars cold, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Where once the saints and heroes knelt of old? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Not so: the vast in-brothering of man— | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The glory of the universe—began | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| When first the heart of the Mother Darkness heard | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| The Whisper, and the ancient chaos stirred. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Ever the feet of Christ were in events, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| Bridging the seas, shaking the continents. | 10 | /˘··/˘·/˘˘ |
| His feet are heard in the historic march | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Under the whirlwind, under the starry arch. | 11 | ···/····/˘· |
| Forever the Great Purpose presses on, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| From darkness unto darkness, dawn to dawn, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Resolved to lay the rafter and the beam | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Of Justice—the imperishable Dream. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘˘· |
| This is the voice of Time against the Hours; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| This is the witness of the Cosmic Powers; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| This is the Music of the Ages—this | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The song whose first note broke the First Abyss. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| All that we glory in was once a dream; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The World-Will marches onward, gleam by gleam. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| New voices speak, dead paths begin to stir: | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Man is emerging from the sepulchre! | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Let no man dare, let no man ever dare | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To mark on Time’s great way, “No Thoroughfare!” | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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