Epilogue
VIRTUE may unlock hell, or evenA sin turn in the wards of Heaven,(As ethics of the text-book go),So little men their own deeds know,Or through the intricate mêléeGuess whitherward draws the battle-sway;So little, if they know the deed,Discern what therefrom shall succeed.To wisest moralists ’tis but givenTo work rough border-law of Heaven,Within this narrow life of ours,These marches ’twixt delimitless Powers.Is it, if Heaven the future showed,Is it the all-severest modeTo see ourselves with the eyes of God?God rather grant, at His assize,He see us not with our own eyes!
Heaven, which man’s generations drawsNor deviates into replicas,Must of as deep diversityIn judgment as creation be.There is no expeditious roadTo pack and label men for God,And save them by the barrel-load.Some may perchance, with strange surprise,Have blundered into Paradise.In vasty dusk of life abroad,They fondly thought to err from God,Nor knew the circle that they trod;And wandering all the night about,Found them at morn where they set out.Death dawned; Heaven lay in prospect wide:—Lo! they were standing by His side!
The rhymer a life uncomplex,With just such cares as mortals vex,So simply felt as all men feel,Lived purely out to his soul’s weal.A double life the Poet lived,And with a double burthen grieved;The life of flesh and life of song,The pangs to both lives that belong;Immortal knew and mortal pain,Who in two worlds could lose and gain.And found immortal fruits must beMortal through his mortality.The life of flesh and life of song!If one life worked the other wrong,What expiating agonyMay for him damned to poesyShut in that little sentence be—What deep austerities of strife—“He lived his life.” He lived his life!
Words in this poem
- unlock v. t.
- To unfasten, as what is locked; as, to unlock a door or a chest. [Cf. AS. unl. See 1st Un-, and Lock, v. t.]
- whitherward adv.
- In what direction; toward what or which place. R. of Brunne.
- 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,]
- assize n.
- An assembly of knights and other substantial men, with a bailiff or justice, in a certain place and at a certain time, for public business. [OE. assise, asise, OF. assise, F. assises, assembly of judges, the decree pronounced by them, tax, impost, fr. assis, assise, p. p. of asseoir, fr. L. assid to ]
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- mortality n.
- The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.]
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epilogue 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, Epilogue, in Poems (1893) (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1469, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thompson-poems/epilogue-2.html, id L01710.
Form and metre
Epilogue is 52 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 -ABB--CC-ADDEE-FF even · heavenA · goB · knowB · mêlée · sway · deedC · succeedC · given · heavenA · oursD · powersD · showedE · modeE · god · assizeF · eyesF
- 2 AA--BCB---CCDDEE drawsA · replicasA · diversity · be · roadB · godC · loadB · surprise · paradise · abroad · godC · trodC · aboutD · outD · wideE · sideE
- 3 --AA--BBCCD-BB--DEE uncomplex · vex · feelA · wealA · lived · grieved · songB · belongB · painC · gainC · beD · mortality · songB · wrongB · agony · poesy · beD · strifeE · lifeE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VIRTUE may unlock hell, or even | 9 | /˘·˘/··/˘ |
| A sin turn in the wards of Heaven, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| (As ethics of the text-book go), | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So little men their own deeds know, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or through the intricate mêlée | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Guess whitherward draws the battle-sway; | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| So little, if they know the deed, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Discern what therefrom shall succeed. | 8 | ˘/·˘/·˘/ |
| To wisest moralists ’tis but given | 8 | ·/˘/˘··/ |
| To work rough border-law of Heaven, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Within this narrow life of ours, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| These marches ’twixt delimitless Powers. | 9 | ·/˘·····/ |
| Is it, if Heaven the future showed, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Is it the all-severest mode | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To see ourselves with the eyes of God? | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| God rather grant, at His assize, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| He see us not with our own eyes! | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Heaven, which man’s generations draws | 8 | /···˘/˘· |
| Nor deviates into replicas, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘˘ |
| Must of as deep diversity | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| In judgment as creation be. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| There is no expeditious road | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To pack and label men for God, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And save them by the barrel-load. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some may perchance, with strange surprise, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Have blundered into Paradise. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In vasty dusk of life abroad, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| They fondly thought to err from God, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Nor knew the circle that they trod; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And wandering all the night about, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Found them at morn where they set out. | 8 | ········ |
| Death dawned; Heaven lay in prospect wide:— | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Lo! they were standing by His side! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The rhymer a life uncomplex, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With just such cares as mortals vex, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So simply felt as all men feel, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Lived purely out to his soul’s weal. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A double life the Poet lived, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And with a double burthen grieved; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The life of flesh and life of song, | 8 | ········ |
| The pangs to both lives that belong; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Immortal knew and mortal pain, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Who in two worlds could lose and gain. | 8 | ········ |
| And found immortal fruits must be | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Mortal through his mortality. | 8 | /˘··˘/˘˘ |
| The life of flesh and life of song! | 8 | ········ |
| If one life worked the other wrong, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What expiating agony | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| May for him damned to poesy | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Shut in that little sentence be— | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| What deep austerities of strife— | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| “He lived his life.” He lived his life! | 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.