Laurel · Francis Thompson · Poems (1893)

A Judgment in Heaven

Francis Thompson (1859–1907) · 1893

iambic tetrameter · 108 lines · from Poems (1893)

ATHWART the sod which is treading for God * the poet paced with hissplendid eyes;Paradise-verdure he stately passes * to win to the Father of Paradise,Through the conscious and palpitant grasses * of inter-tangledrelucent dyes.

The angels a-play on its fields of Summer * (their wild wings rustledhis guides’ cymars)Looked up from disport at the passing comer, * as they pelted eachother with handfuls of stars;And the warden-spirits with startled feet rose, * hand on sword, bytheir tethered cars.

With plumes night-tinctured englobed and cinctured, * of Saints, hisguided steps held onTo where on the far crystálline pale * of that transtellar Heaventhere shoneThe immutable crocean dawn * effusing from the Father’s Throne.

Through the reverberant Eden-ways * the bruit of his great adventdriven,Back from the fulgent justle and press * with mighty echoing so wasgiven,As when the surly thunder smites * upon the clangèd gates of Heaven.

Over the bickering gonfalons, * far-ranged as for Tartarean wars,Went a waver of ribbèd fire *—as night-seas on phosphoric barsLike a flame-plumed fan shake slowly out * their ridgy reach ofcrumbling stars.

At length to where on His fretted Throne * sat in the heart of Hisaged dominionsThe great Triune, and Mary nigh, * lit round with spears of theirhauberked minions,The poet drew, in the thunderous blue * involvèd dread of thosemounted pinions.

As in a secret and tenebrous cloud * the watcher from the disquietearthAt momentary intervals * beholds from its raggèd rifts break forthThe flash of a golden perturbation, * the travelling threat of awitchèd birth;

Till heavily parts a sinister chasm, * a grisly jaw, whose vergessoon,Slowly and ominously filled * by the on-coming plenilune,Supportlessly congest with fire, * and suddenly spit forth the moon:—

With beauty, not terror, through tangled error * of night-dipt plumesso burned their charge;Swayed and parted the globing clusters * so,—disclosed from theirkindling marge,Roseal-chapleted, splendent-vestured, * the singer there where God’slight lay large.

Hu, hu! a wonder! a wonder! see, * clasping the singer’s gloriesclingsA dingy creature, even to laughter * cloaked and clad in patchworkthings,Shrinking close from the unused glows * of the seraphs’ versicolouredwings.

A rhymer, rhyming a futile rhyme, * he had crept for convoy throughEden-waysInto the shade of the poet’s glory, * darkened under his prevalentrays,Fearfully hoping a distant welcome * as a poor kinsman of his lays.

The angels laughed with a lovely scorning: *—“Who has done this sorrydeed inThe garden of our Father, God? * ’mid his blossoms to sow this weedin?Never our fingers knew this stuff: * not so fashion the looms ofEden!”

The singer bowed his brow majestic, * searching that patchwork throughand through,Feeling God’s lucent gazes traverse * his singing-stoling and spirittoo:The hallowed harpers were fain to frown * on the strange thing come’mid their sacred crew,Only the singer that was earth * his fellow-earth and his own selfknew.

But the poet rent off robe and wreath, * so as a sloughing serpentdoth,Laid them at the rhymer’s feet, * shed down wreath and raiment both,Stood in a dim and shamèd stole, * like the tattered wing of a mustymoth.

“Thou gav’st the weed and wreath of song, * the weed and wreath aresolely Thine,And this dishonest vesture * is the only vesture that is mine;The life I textured, Thou the song *—my handicraft is not divine!”

He wrested o’er the rhymer’s head * that garmenting which wrought himwrong;A flickering tissue argentine * down dripped its shivering silverslong:—“Better thou wov’st thy woof of life * than thou didst weave thy woofof song!”

Never a chief in Saintdom was, * but turned him from the Poet then;Never an eye looked mild on him * ’mid all the angel myriads ten,Save sinless Mary, and sinful Mary *—the Mary titled Magdalen.

“Turn yon robe,” spake Magdalen, * “of torn bright song, and see andfeel.”They turned the raiment, saw and felt * what their turning did reveal—All the inner surface piled * with bloodied hairs, like hairs ofsteel.

“Take, I pray, yon chaplet up, * thrown down ruddied from his head.”They took the roseal chaplet up, * and they stood astonishèd:Every leaf between their fingers, * as they bruised it, burst andbled.

“See his torn flesh through those rents; * see the punctures round hishair,As if the chaplet-flowers had driven * deep roots in to nourish there—Lord, who gav’st him robe and wreath, * what was this Thou gav’stfor wear?”

“Fetch forth the Paradisal garb!” * spake the Father, sweet and low;Drew them both by the frightened hand * where Mary’s throne madeirised bow—“Take, Princess Mary, of thy good grace, * two spirits greater thanthey know.”

Words in this poem 47

palpitant a.: Palpitating; throbbing; trembling. Carlyle. [L. palpitans, p. pr.]
relucent a.: Reflecting light; shining; glittering; glistening; bright; luminous; splendid. [L. relucens, p. pr. relucere. See Lucent.]
disport n.: Play; sport; pastime; diversion; playfulness. [OF. desport, deport. See Disport, v. i., and cf. Sport.]
comer n.: One who comes, or who has come; one who has arrived, and is present. All comers, all who come, or offer, to take part in a matter, especially in a contest or controversy.
cinctured n.: Having or wearing a cincture or gridle.
immutable a.: Not mutable; not capable or susceptible of change; unchangeable; unalterable. [L. immutabilis; pref. im- not + mutabilis mutable. See Mutable.]
reverberant a.: Having the quality of reverberation; reverberating. [L. reverberans, p. pr. : cf. F. réverbérant. See Reverberate.]
eden n.: The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
bruit n.: Report; rumor; fame. [OE. bruit, brut, noise, bruit, F. bruit, fr. LL. brugitus; cf. L. rugire to roar; perh. influenced by the source of E. bray to make a harsh noise, Armor. brud b]
fulgent a.: Exquisitely bright; shining; dazzling; effulgent. [L. fulgens, -entis, p. pr. of fulgere to flash, glitter, shine, akin to Gr. Phlox, Flagrant.]
justle v. i.: To run or strike against each other; to encounter; to clash; to jostle. [Freq. of joust, just, v. i. See Joust, v. i., and cf. Jostle.]
surly a.: Arrogant; haughty. Cotgrave. [Probably from sir, and originally meaning, sirlike, i.e., proud. See Sir, and Like, a.]
tartarean a.: Of or pertaining to Tartarus; hellish. [L. tartareus: cf. F. tartaréen.]
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
waver v. i.: To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to swing; to flutter. [OE. waveren, from AS. wæfre wavering, restless. See Wave, v. i.]
ridgy a.: Having a ridge or ridges; rising in a ridge.
triune a.: Being three in one; -- an epithet used to express the unity of a trinity of persons in the Godhead. [Pref. tri- + L. unus one. See One.]
thunderous a.: Producing thunder. [Written also thundrous.]
watcher n.: One who watches; one who sits up or continues; a diligent observer; specifically, one who attends upon the sick during the night.
plenilune n.: The full moon. B. Jonson. [L. plenilunium; plenus full + luna the moon.]
congest v. t.: To collect or gather into a mass or aggregate; to bring together; to accumulate. [L. congestus, p. p. of congere to bring together; con- + gerere. See Gerund.]
swayed a.: Bent down, and hollow in the back; sway-backed; -- said of a horse.
marge n.: Border; margin; edge; verge. [F. marge. See Margin.]
roseal a.: resembling a rose in smell or color. Sir T. Elyot. [L. roseus, fr. rosa a rose.]
clad v.: To clothe. Holland.
versicoloured a.: Having various colors; changeable in color. [L. versicolor; versare to change + color color.]
futile a.: Talkative; loquacious; tattling. [L. futilis that easily pours out, that easily lets loose, vain, worthless, from the root of fundere to pour out: cf. F. futile. See Fuse, v. t.]
convoy v. t.: To accompany for protection, either by sea or land; to attend for protection; to escort; as, a frigate convoys a merchantman. [F. convoyer, OF. conveier, convoier. See Convey.]
fearfully adv.: In a fearful manner.
kinsman n.: A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
lucent a.: Shining; bright; resplendent. [L. lucens, p. pr. of lucere to shine, fr. lux, lucis, light.]
fain v. t.: To be glad ; to wish or desire.
sloughing n.: The act of casting off the skin or shell, as do insects and crustaceans; ecdysis.
stole n.: A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
dishonest a.: Dishonorable; shameful; indecent; unchaste; lewd. [Pref. dis- + honest: cf. F. déshonnête, OF. deshoneste.]
argentine a.: Pertaining to, or resembling, silver; made of, or sounding like, silver; silvery.
didst: , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
saintdom n.: The state or character of a saint.
sinless a.: Free from sin. Piers Plowman.
titled a.: Having or bearing a title.
magdalen n.: A reformed prostitute. [From Mary Magdalene, traditionally reported to have been the repentant sinner forgiven by Christ. See Luke vii. 36.]
piled a.: Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
chaplet n.: A garland or wreath to be worn on the head. [F. chapelet, dim. of OF. chapel hat, garland, dim. fr. LL. cappa. See Cap, and cf. Chapelet, Chapeau.]
ruddied a.: Made ruddy or red.
garb n.: External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
irised a.: Having colors like those of the rainbow; iridescent. Holmes. [See Iris.]
princess n.: A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

A Judgment in Heaven is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1469; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Francis Thompson, A Judgment in Heaven, in Poems (1893) (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1469, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thompson-poems/a-judgment-in-heaven.html, id L25366.

Form and metre

A Judgment in Heaven is 108 lines in 21 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.

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 -A--A his · eyes^A · paradise · tangled · dyes^A
2 -A-A-A rustled · cymars^A · each · stars^A · by · cars^A
3 -AABB his · on^A · heaven^A · shone^B · throne^B
4 -A-A- advent · driven^A · was · given^A · heaven
5 -A-A wars · bars^A · of · stars^A
6 -A-A-A his · dominions^A · their · minions^A · those · pinions^A
7 -A--A disquiet · earth^A · forth · a · birth^A
8 -AAA verges · soon^A · plenilune^A · moon^A
9 -A-A-A plumes · charge^A · their · marge^A · god's · large^A
10 -A-A-A glories · clings^A · patchwork · things^A · versicoloured · wings^A
11 -A-AA through · ways^A · prevalent · rays^A · lays^A
12 -A-A-- sorry · in^A · weed · in^A · of · eden
13 AA-A-A-A through^A · through^A · spirit · too^A · come · crew^A · self · knew^A
14 -A--A serpent · doth^A · both · musty · moth^A
15 -AAA are · thine^A · mine^A · divine^A
16 -A-A-A him · wrong^A · silvers · long^A · woof · song^A
17 AAA then^A · ten^A · magdalen^A
18 -AA-A and · feel^A · reveal^A · of · steel^A
19 A--A head^A · astonishèd · and · bled^A
20 -AA-A his · hair^A · there^A · gav'st · wear^A
21 A-A-A low^A · made · bow^A · than · know^A

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
ATHWART the sod which is treading for God * the poet paced with his	16	˘/····/˘···/˘···
splendid eyes;	3	/˘·
Paradise-verdure he stately passes * to win to the Father of Paradise,	20	/˘·/˘·/˘/˘····/˘·/˘·
Through the conscious and palpitant grasses * of inter-tangled	15	··/˘·/˘˘/˘·˘//˘
relucent dyes.	4	˘/˘·
The angels a-play on its fields of Summer * (their wild wings rustled	16	·/˘······/˘···/˘
his guides’ cymars)	4	····
Looked up from disport at the passing comer, * as they pelted each	16	···˘/··/˘/˘··/˘·
other with handfuls of stars;	7	/˘·/···
And the warden-spirits with startled feet rose, * hand on sword, by	15	··/˘/˘·/˘······
their tethered cars.	4	·/˘·
With plumes night-tinctured englobed and cinctured, * of Saints, his	13	···/˘···/˘···
guided steps held on	5	/˘···
To where on the far crystálline pale * of that transtellar Heaven	15	··············/
there shone	2	··
The immutable crocean dawn * effusing from the Father’s Throne.	15	·˘/˘········/˘·
Through the reverberant Eden-ways * the bruit of his great advent	16	··˘/˘˘/˘······/·
driven,	2	/˘
Back from the fulgent justle and press * with mighty echoing so was	16	···/˘/˘···/˘/˘··
given,	2	/˘
As when the surly thunder smites * upon the clangèd gates of Heaven.	15	···/˘/˘·······/
Over the bickering gonfalons, * far-ranged as for Tartarean wars,	15	··/˘···········
Went a waver of ribbèd fire *—as night-seas on phosphoric bars	14	··/˘··/····/˘·
Like a flame-plumed fan shake slowly out * their ridgy reach of	14	······/˘··/˘··
crumbling stars.	4	/˘˘·
At length to where on His fretted Throne * sat in the heart of His	15	······/˘·······
aged dominions	4	·˘/˘
The great Triune, and Mary nigh, * lit round with spears of their	14	··/˘·/˘·······
hauberked minions,	4	··/˘
The poet drew, in the thunderous blue * involvèd dread of those	14	·/˘···/˘······
mounted pinions.	4	/˘/˘
As in a secret and tenebrous cloud * the watcher from the disquiet	17	···/˘·/˘··/˘··˘/˘
earth	1	·
At momentary intervals * beholds from its raggèd rifts break forth	15	·/˘·˘/˘˘/······
The flash of a golden perturbation, * the travelling threat of a	16	····/˘·˘/˘·/˘···
witchèd birth;	2	··
Till heavily parts a sinister chasm, * a grisly jaw, whose verges	16	·/˘··/˘/˘·/˘··/˘
soon,	1	·
Slowly and ominously filled * by the on-coming plenilune,	14	/˘·/˘····/˘/˘˘
Supportlessly congest with fire, * and suddenly spit forth the moon:—	15	····˘/·/·/˘····
With beauty, not terror, through tangled error * of night-dipt plumes	15	·/˘·/˘·/˘/˘····
so burned their charge;	4	····
Swayed and parted the globing clusters * so,—disclosed from their	14	··/˘·/˘/˘·˘/··
kindling marge,	3	/˘·
Roseal-chapleted, splendent-vestured, * the singer there where God’s	16	/˘˘···/˘/˘·/˘···
light lay large.	3	···
Hu, hu! a wonder! a wonder! see, * clasping the singer’s glories	16	···/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘/˘
clings	1	·
A dingy creature, even to laughter * cloaked and clad in patchwork	15	·/˘/˘/·/˘····/·
things,	1	·
Shrinking close from the unused glows * of the seraphs’ versicoloured	16	/˘···˘/·········
wings.	1	·
A rhymer, rhyming a futile rhyme, * he had crept for convoy through	15	·//˘·/˘·····/··
Eden-ways	3	/˘·
Into the shade of the poet’s glory, * darkened under his prevalent	17	······/˘/˘/˘···/˘
rays,	1	·
Fearfully hoping a distant welcome * as a poor kinsman of his lays.	18	/˘˘/˘·/˘/˘···/····
The angels laughed with a lovely scorning: *—“Who has done this sorry	16	·/˘···/˘/˘····/˘
deed in	2	··
The garden of our Father, God? * ’mid his blossoms to sow this weed	16	·/˘·//˘···/˘····
in?	1	·
Never our fingers knew this stuff: * not so fashion the looms of	14	///˘·····/˘···
Eden!”	2	/˘
The singer bowed his brow majestic, * searching that patchwork through	15	·/˘···˘/˘/˘·/··
and through,	2	··
Feeling God’s lucent gazes traverse * his singing-stoling and spirit	16	/˘·/˘/˘˘/·/˘/˘·/
too:	1	·
The hallowed harpers were fain to frown * on the strange thing come	14	·/˘/˘·········
’mid their sacred crew,	5	··/˘·
Only the singer that was earth * his fellow-earth and his own self	16	/˘·/˘····/˘·····
knew.	1	·
But the poet rent off robe and wreath, * so as a sloughing serpent	16	··/˘········/˘/˘
doth,	1	·
Laid them at the rhymer’s feet, * shed down wreath and raiment both,	13	····/·····/˘·
Stood in a dim and shamèd stole, * like the tattered wing of a musty	16	·········/˘···/˘
moth.	1	·
“Thou gav’st the weed and wreath of song, * the weed and wreath are	13	·············
solely Thine,	3	/˘·
And this dishonest vesture * is the only vesture that is mine;	16	··˘/˘/˘··/˘/˘···
The life I textured, Thou the song *—my handicraft is not divine!”	16	···/˘····/˘···˘/
He wrested o’er the rhymer’s head * that garmenting which wrought him	13	·/˘··/··/˘···
wrong;	1	·
A flickering tissue argentine * down dripped its shivering silvers	15	·/˘/·/˘····/˘/˘
long:—	1	·
“Better thou wov’st thy woof of life * than thou didst weave thy woof	14	/˘············
of song!”	2	··
Never a chief in Saintdom was, * but turned him from the Poet then;	15	/···/˘······/˘·
Never an eye looked mild on him * ’mid all the angel myriads ten,	15	/·········/˘/˘·
Save sinless Mary, and sinful Mary *—the Mary titled Magdalen.	17	·/˘/˘·/˘/˘·/˘/˘/˘
“Turn yon robe,” spake Magdalen, * “of torn bright song, and see and	13	····/˘·······
feel.”	1	·
They turned the raiment, saw and felt * what their turning did reveal—	15	···/˘·····/˘·˘/
All the inner surface piled * with bloodied hairs, like hairs of	14	··/˘/˘··/˘····
steel.	1	·
“Take, I pray, yon chaplet up, * thrown down ruddied from his head.”	14	····/˘···/˘···
They took the roseal chaplet up, * and they stood astonishèd:	15	···/˘˘/˘·······
Every leaf between their fingers, * as they bruised it, burst and	14	/˘····/˘······
bled.	1	·
“See his torn flesh through those rents; * see the punctures round his	13	·········/˘··
hair,	1	·
As if the chaplet-flowers had driven * deep roots in to nourish there—	15	···/˘/·/····/˘·
Lord, who gav’st him robe and wreath, * what was this Thou gav’st	12	············
for wear?”	2	··
“Fetch forth the Paradisal garb!” * spake the Father, sweet and low;	14	···/˘˘···/˘···
Drew them both by the frightened hand * where Mary’s throne made	13	·····/˘··/˘··
irised bow—	3	/˘·
“Take, Princess Mary, of thy good grace, * two spirits greater than	15	·/˘/˘·····/˘/˘·
they know.”	2	··

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More by Francis Thompson

Poems (1893)