Who loves not knowledge? Who shall rail
Who loves not knowledge? Who shall railAgainst her beauty? May she mixWith men and prosper! Who shall fixHer pillars? Let her work prevail.
But on her forehead sits a fire:She sets her forward countenanceAnd leaps into the future chance,Submitting all things to desire.
Half-grown as yet, a child, and vain--She cannot fight the fear of death.What is she, cut from love and faith,But some wild Pallas from the brain
Of Demons? fiery-hot to burstAll barriers in her onward raceFor power. Let her know her place;She is the second, not the first.
A higher hand must make her mild,If all be not in vain; and guideHer footsteps, moving side by sideWith wisdom, like the younger child:
For she is earthly of the mind,But wisdom heavenly of the soul.O, friend, who camest to thy goalSo early, leaving me behind,
I would the great world grew like thee,Who grewest not alone in powerAnd knowledge, but from hour to hourIn reverence and in charity.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- prosper v. t.
- To favor; to render successful. [F. prospérer v. i., or L. prosperare, v. i., or L. prosperare, v. t., fr. prosper or prosperus. See Prosperous.]
- pallas n.
- Pallas Athene, the Grecian goddess of wisdom, called also Athene, and identified, at a later period, with the Roman Minerva.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Who loves not knowledge? Who shall rail 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, Who loves not knowledge? Who shall rail, in In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tennyson-in-memoriam/section-112.html, id L18472.
Form and metre
Who loves not knowledge? Who shall rail is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBA. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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 railA · mixB · fixB · prevailA
- 2 ABBA fireA · countenanceB · chanceB · desireA
- 3 ABBA vainA · deathB · faithB · brainA
- 4 ABBA burstA · raceB · placeB · firstA
- 5 ABBA mildA · guideB · sideB · childA
- 6 ABBA mindA · soulB · goalB · behindA
- 7 ABBA theeA · powerB · hourB · charityA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Who loves not knowledge? Who shall rail | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Against her beauty? May she mix | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With men and prosper! Who shall fix | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her pillars? Let her work prevail. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But on her forehead sits a fire: | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| She sets her forward countenance | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And leaps into the future chance, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Submitting all things to desire. | 9 | ˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Half-grown as yet, a child, and vain-- | 8 | ········ |
| She cannot fight the fear of death. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| What is she, cut from love and faith, | 8 | ········ |
| But some wild Pallas from the brain | 8 | ········ |
| Of Demons? fiery-hot to burst | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| All barriers in her onward race | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For power. Let her know her place; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She is the second, not the first. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A higher hand must make her mild, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| If all be not in vain; and guide | 8 | ········ |
| Her footsteps, moving side by side | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| With wisdom, like the younger child: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For she is earthly of the mind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But wisdom heavenly of the soul. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O, friend, who camest to thy goal | 8 | ········ |
| So early, leaving me behind, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I would the great world grew like thee, | 8 | ········ |
| Who grewest not alone in power | 9 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| And knowledge, but from hour to hour | 9 | ·/˘··/·/˘ |
| In reverence and in charity. | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘ |
On this poem
When "cut from love and faith," Science is no more than "some wild Pallas from the brain of Demons"--like Minerva, who sprang all armed and full-grown from the brain of Jupiter.
Science, too often,
"leaps into the future chance, Submitting all things to desire. Half-grown as yet, a child, and vain"--
and therefore needing caution and restraint.
If separated from love and faith, she bursts
"All barriers in her onward race For power."
Science is "second, not the first,"
"For she is earthly of the mind, But Wisdom heavenly of the soul."
He would have the world wise and modest,
"like thee, Who grewest not alone in power And knowledge, but by year and hour In reverence and in charity."
It may be remarked that, here and elsewhere, the Poet makes a distinction betwixt mind and soul: the former acquiring knowledge which
"is of things we see;"
the latter by faith,
"Believing where we cannot prove;"
even those things which St. Paul says "are not seen and are eternal."
Notes from the edition 7
Section introductions from Alfred Gatty, <i>A Key to Lord Tennyson's “In Memoriam”</i>, 4th ed. (George Bell & Sons, 1900; Project Gutenberg #36637). Line notes credited “[Tennyson]” are Tennyson's own notes; “[Hallam Tennyson]” marks a note that is wholly his son and editor's own explanatory bracket, not the poet's own words; “[Emily Tennyson]” marks the few notes signed by his wife. All three are from <i>The Works of Tennyson, Annotated by the Author</i>, ed. Hallam, Lord Tennyson, vol. 3 (Macmillan, 1908; Internet Archive worksoftennysona03tennuoft). Line notes credited “[Bradley]” are A. C. Bradley's, from <i>A Commentary on Tennyson's In Memoriam</i> (Macmillan, 1910; Internet Archive commentaryontenn00braduoft). All these number sections by the final, 131-section text, not the site's own 1850 numbering: from final XL to LVIII subtract one section number, from LX on subtract two, to reach the site's; the site prints the 129-section first edition of 1850 (see the work's own blurb), so two of the final text's numbered sections have no home here and are skipped.
- Stanza 1 Who shall fix Her pillars ?
" Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars" (Prov. ix. i). [Tennyson] - Stanza 1, line 4 ' The pillars of Hercules represented the farthest boun- dary of the ancient mariners ' (Beeching). [Bradley]
- Stanza 3, line 1 * vain.' Cf. Prologue, 32; Maud, I. iv. st. vii. [Bradley]
- Stanza 3, line 2 Because she cannot prove a life beyond death: she is ' of things we see.' [Bradley]
- Stanza 3, line 4 Allusion to the myth of Pallas springing from the brain of Zeus. Cf. with the condemnation of intellect severed from 'love and faith,' the idea of poetic fancy 'without a conscience or an aim' and so yielding mere 1 fantastic beauty ' (xxxiv. 5-8). [Bradley]
- Stanza 5, line 1 'A higher hand': that of wisdom (20). The latter word has to Tennyson religious associations ultimately derived from Alexandrian philosophy. Cf. xxxvi. 4, 9. [Bradley]
- Stanza 7, line 3 ' by year and hour ': first ed.: ' from hour to hour.' [Bradley]
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.