’Tis held that sorrow makes us wise
’Tis held that sorrow makes us wise;Yet how much wisdom sleeps with theeWhich not alone had guided me,But served the seasons that may rise;
For can I doubt who knew thee keenIn intellect, with force and skillTo strive, to fashion, to fulfil--I doubt not what thou wouldst have been:
A life in civic action warm,A soul on highest mission sent,A potent voice of Parliament,A pillar steadfast in the storm,
Should licensed boldness gather force,Becoming, when the time has birth,A lever to uplift the earthAnd roll it in another course,
With many shocks that come and go,With agonies, with energies,With overthrowings, and with cries,And undulations to and fro.
Words in this poem
- civic a.
- Relating to, or derived from, a city or citizen; relating to man as a member of society, or to civil affairs. Civic crown (Rom. [L.civicus, fr. civis citizen. See City.]
- parliament n.
- A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
- uplift v. t.
- To lift or raise aloft; to raise; to elevate; as, to uplift the arm; to uplift a rock.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
’Tis held that sorrow makes us wise is in the public domain. This text is taken from In memoriam, Project Gutenberg ebook #70950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alfred Tennyson, ’Tis held that sorrow makes us wise, in In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tennyson-in-memoriam/section-111.html, id L18471.
Form and metre
’Tis held that sorrow makes us wise is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBA. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABBA wiseA · theeB · meB · riseA
- 2 ABBA keenA · skillB · fulfilB · beenA
- 3 ABBA warmA · sentB · parliamentB · stormA
- 4 ABBA forceA · birthB · earthB · courseA
- 5 ABBA goA · energiesB · criesB · froA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ’Tis held that sorrow makes us wise; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet how much wisdom sleeps with thee | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which not alone had guided me, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| But served the seasons that may rise; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For can I doubt who knew thee keen | 8 | ········ |
| In intellect, with force and skill | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To strive, to fashion, to fulfil-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I doubt not what thou wouldst have been: | 8 | ········ |
| A life in civic action warm, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A soul on highest mission sent, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A potent voice of Parliament, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| A pillar steadfast in the storm, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Should licensed boldness gather force, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Becoming, when the time has birth, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| A lever to uplift the earth | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| And roll it in another course, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| With many shocks that come and go, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With agonies, with energies, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| With overthrowings, and with cries, | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| And undulations to and fro. | 8 | ········ |
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.