In This Age of Hard Trying Nonchalance Is Good, and
really, it is not thebusiness of the gods to bake clay pots. They did notdo it in this instance. A fewrevolved upon the axes of their worthas if excessive popularity might be a pot;
they did not venture theprofession of humility. The polished wedgethat might have split the firmamentwas dumb. At last it threw itself awayand falling down, conferred on some poor fool, a privilege.
Taller by the length ofa conversation of five hundred years than allthe others, there was one, whose talesof what could never have been actual—were better than the haggish, uncompanionable drawl
of certitude; his by-play was more terrible in its effectivenessthan the fiercest frontal attack.The staff, the bag, the feigned inconsequenceof manner, best bespeak that weapon, self protectiveness.
Words in this poem
- bake v. t.
- To prepare, as food, by cooking in a dry heat, either in an oven or under coals, or on heated stone or metal; as, to bake bread, meat, apples.
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- haggish a.
- Like a hag; ugly; wrinkled.
- drawl v. t.
- To utter in a slow, lengthened tone. [Prob. fr. draw: cf. D. dralen to linger, tarry, Icel. dralla to loiter. See Draw, and cf. Draggle.]
- certitude n.
- Freedom from doubt; assurance; certainty. J. H. Newman. [LL. certitudo, fr. L. certus: cf. F. certitude. See Certain.]
- effectiveness n.
- The quality of being effective.
- inconsequence n.
- The quality or state of being inconsequent; want of just or logical inference or argument; inconclusiveness. Bp. Stillingfleet. [L. inconsequentia: cf. F. inconséquence.]
- bespeak v. t.
- To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor. [OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be- + sprecan to speak. See Speak.]
- protectiveness n.
- The quality or state of being protective. W. Pater.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In This Age of Hard Trying Nonchalance Is Good, and is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #62833; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Marianne Moore, In This Age of Hard Trying Nonchalance Is Good, and, in Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #62833, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moore-poems/in-this-age-of-hard-trying-nonchalance-is-good-and.html, id L02627.
Form and metre
In This Age of Hard Trying Nonchalance Is Good, and is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 70% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 the · notA · few · worth · potA
- 2 -A--A the · wedgeA · firmament · away · privilegeA
- 3 -A-AA of · allA · tales · actualA · drawlA
- 4 -A--A by · effectivenessA · attack · inconsequence · protectivenessA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| really, it is not the | 6 | /˘···· |
| business of the gods to bake clay pots. They did not | 12 | /˘·········· |
| do it in this instance. A few | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| revolved upon the axes of their worth | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| as if excessive popularity might be a pot; | 14 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘˘···· |
| they did not venture the | 6 | ···/˘· |
| profession of humility. The polished wedge | 12 | ˘/˘·˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| that might have split the firmament | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| was dumb. At last it threw itself away | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| and falling down, conferred on some poor fool, a privilege. | 13 | ·/˘·˘/·····/˘ |
| Taller by the length of | 6 | /˘···· |
| a conversation of five hundred years than all | 12 | ··˘/˘··/˘··· |
| the others, there was one, whose tales | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| of what could never have been actual— | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| were better than the haggish, uncompanionable drawl | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| of certitude; his by- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| play was more terrible in its effectiveness | 12 | ···/˘˘··˘/˘˘ |
| than the fiercest frontal attack. | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘/ |
| The staff, the bag, the feigned inconsequence | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| of manner, best bespeak that weapon, self protectiveness. | 14 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
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.