Ease
How easily doth Nature teach the soulHow irresistible is her infusion!There's nothing found that can her force controlBut sin. How weak and feeble's all delusion!
Things false are forc'd and most elaborate,Things pure and true are obvious unto sense;The first impressions in our earthly stateAre made by things most great in excellence.
How easy is it to believe the skyIs wide and great and fair! How soon may weBe made to know the Sun is bright and high,And very glorious, when its beams we see!
That all the Earth is one continued globe,And that all men therein are living treasures,That fields and meadows are a glorious robeAdorning it with smooth and heavenly pleasures.
That all we see is ours, and every onePossessor of the whole; that every manIs like a God Incarnate on the Throne,Even like the first for whom the world began;
Whom all are taught to honour, serve, and love,Because he is belov'd of God unknown;And therefore is on Earth itself aboveAll others, that His wisdom might be shewn.
That all may happy be, each one most blest,Both in himself and others; all most high,While all by each, and each by all possestAre intermutual joys beneath the sky.
This shows a wise contrivance, and discoversSome great Creator sitting on the Throne,That so disposeth things for all His lovers,That every one might reign like God alone.
Words in this poem
- obvious a.
- Opposing; fronting. [L. obvius; ob (see Ob-) + via way. See Voyage.]
- 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.]
- incarnate a.
- Not in the flesh; spiritual. [Pref. in- not + carnate.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- intermutual a.
- Mutual. Daniel.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ease is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Traherne, 1636?-1674, from the original manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #61586; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Traherne, Ease, in Poetical Works (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #61586, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/traherne-poems/ease.html, id L13309.
Form and metre
Ease is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAB soulA · infusionB · controlA · delusionB
- 2 ABAB elaborateA · senseB · stateA · excellenceB
- 3 ABAB skyA · weB · highA · seeB
- 4 ABAB globeA · treasuresB · robeA · pleasuresB
- 5 -A-A one · manA · throne · beganA
- 6 A-A- loveA · unknown · aboveA · shewn
- 7 ABAB blestA · highB · possestA · skyB
- 8 ABAB discoversA · throneB · loversA · aloneB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How easily doth Nature teach the soul | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| How irresistible is her infusion! | 11 | ··˘/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| There's nothing found that can her force control | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| But sin. How weak and feeble's all delusion! | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Things false are forc'd and most elaborate, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Things pure and true are obvious unto sense; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The first impressions in our earthly state | 10 | ··˘/˘·//˘· |
| Are made by things most great in excellence. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| How easy is it to believe the sky | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Is wide and great and fair! How soon may we | 10 | ·········· |
| Be made to know the Sun is bright and high, | 10 | ·········· |
| And very glorious, when its beams we see! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| That all the Earth is one continued globe, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| And that all men therein are living treasures, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| That fields and meadows are a glorious robe | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Adorning it with smooth and heavenly pleasures. | 11 | ˘/˘····/˘/˘ |
| That all we see is ours, and every one | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Possessor of the whole; that every man | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Is like a God Incarnate on the Throne, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Even like the first for whom the world began; | 10 | /·······˘/ |
| Whom all are taught to honour, serve, and love, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Because he is belov'd of God unknown; | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| And therefore is on Earth itself above | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| All others, that His wisdom might be shewn. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| That all may happy be, each one most blest, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Both in himself and others; all most high, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| While all by each, and each by all possest | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Are intermutual joys beneath the sky. | 10 | ·········· |
| This shows a wise contrivance, and discovers | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Some great Creator sitting on the Throne, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| That so disposeth things for all His lovers, | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| That every one might reign like God alone. | 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.