From Michael Angelo
I know not if from uncreated spheresSome longed-for ray it be that warms my breast,Or lesser light, in memory expressed,Of some once lovely face, that reappears,Or passing rumour ringing in my ears,Or dreamy vision, once my bosom's guest,That left behind I know not what unrest,Haply the reason of these wayward tears.But what I feel and seek, what leads me on,Comes not of me; nor can I tell arightWhere shines the hidden star that sheds this light.Since I beheld thee, sweet and bitter fightWithin me. Resolution have I none.Can this be, Master, what thine eyes have done?
The haven and last refuge of my pain(A safe and strong defence)Are tears and supplications, but in vain.Love sets upon me banded with Disdain,One armed with pity and one armed with death,And as death smites me, pity lends me breath.Else had my soul long since departed thence.She pineth to removeWhither her hopes of endless peace abideAnd beauty dwelleth without beauty's pride,There her last bliss to prove.But still the living fountain of her tearsWells in the heart when all thy truth appears,Lest death should vanquish love.
Ravished by all that to the eyes is fair,Yet hungry for the joys that truly bless,My soul can find no stairTo mount to heaven, save earth's loveliness.For from the stars aboveDescends a glorious lightThat lifts our longing to their highest heightAnd bears the name of love.Nor is there aught can moveA gentle heart, or purge or make it wise,But beauty and the starlight of her eyes.
Words in this poem
- rumour n.
- A flying or popular report; the common talk; hence, public fame; notoriety. [F. rumeur, L. rumor; cf. rumificare, rumitare to rumor, Skr. ru to cry.]
- dreamy a.
- Abounding in dreams or given to dreaming; appropriate to, or like, dreams; visionary.
- unrest n.
- Want of rest or repose; unquietness; sleeplessness; uneasiness; disquietude.
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From Michael Angelo is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #49721; 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 Santayana, From Michael Angelo, in Poems (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49721, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/santayana-poems/from-michael-angelo.html, id L21754.
Form and metre
From Michael Angelo is 39 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 51% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 ABBAABBA-CCCDD spheresA · breastB · expressedB · reappearsA · earsA · guestB · unrestB · tearsA · on · arightC · lightC · fightC · noneD · doneD
- 2 ABAACCBDEEDFFD painA · defenceB · vainA · disdainA · deathC · breathC · thenceB · removeD · abideE · prideE · proveD · tearsF · appearsF · loveD
- 3 ABABCDDCCEE fairA · blessB · stairA · lovelinessB · aboveC · lightD · heightD · loveC · moveC · wiseE · eyesE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I know not if from uncreated spheres | 9 | ········· |
| Some longed-for ray it be that warms my breast, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or lesser light, in memory expressed, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Of some once lovely face, that reappears, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Or passing rumour ringing in my ears, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Or dreamy vision, once my bosom's guest, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That left behind I know not what unrest, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Haply the reason of these wayward tears. | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| But what I feel and seek, what leads me on, | 10 | ·········· |
| Comes not of me; nor can I tell aright | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Where shines the hidden star that sheds this light. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Since I beheld thee, sweet and bitter fight | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Within me. Resolution have I none. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Can this be, Master, what thine eyes have done? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The haven and last refuge of my pain | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| (A safe and strong defence) | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Are tears and supplications, but in vain. | 10 | ·········· |
| Love sets upon me banded with Disdain, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| One armed with pity and one armed with death, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And as death smites me, pity lends me breath. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Else had my soul long since departed thence. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| She pineth to remove | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Whither her hopes of endless peace abide | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| And beauty dwelleth without beauty's pride, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| There her last bliss to prove. | 6 | ······ |
| But still the living fountain of her tears | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Wells in the heart when all thy truth appears, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Lest death should vanquish love. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Ravished by all that to the eyes is fair, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet hungry for the joys that truly bless, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| My soul can find no stair | 6 | ······ |
| To mount to heaven, save earth's loveliness. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| For from the stars above | 6 | ······ |
| Descends a glorious light | 7 | ˘/·/˘˘· |
| That lifts our longing to their highest height | 10 | ··//˘··/˘· |
| And bears the name of love. | 6 | ······ |
| Nor is there aught can move | 6 | ······ |
| A gentle heart, or purge or make it wise, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But beauty and the starlight of her eyes. | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
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.