Innocence
But that which most I wonder at, which mostI did esteem my bliss, which most I boast,And ever shall enjoy, is that withinI felt no stain nor spot of sin.
No darkness then did overshade,But all within was pure and bright,No guilt did crush nor fear invade,But all my soul was full of light.
A joyful sense and purityIs all I can remember,The very night to me was bright,'Twas Summer in December.
A serious meditation did employMy soul within, which taken up with joyDid seem no outward thing to note, but flyAll objects that do feed the eye,
While it those very objects didAdmire and prize and praise and love,Which in their glory most are hid,Which presence only doth remove.
Their constant daily presence IRejoicing at, did see,And that which takes them from the eyeOf others offered them to me.
No inward inclination did I feelTo avarice or pride; my soul did kneelIn admiration all the day. No lust, nor strife,Polluted then my infant life.
No fraud nor anger in me mov'dNo malice, jealousy, or spite;All that I saw I truly lov'd:Contentment only and delight
Were in my soul. O Heav'n! what blissDid I enjoy and feel!What powerful delight did thisInspire! for this I daily kneel.
Whether it be that Nature is so pure,And custom only vicious; or that sureGod did by miracle the guilt remove,And made my soul to feel his Love
So early: or that 'twas one day,Wherein this happiness I found,Whose strength and brightness so do ray,That still it seems me to surround,
Whate'er it is, it is a LightSo endless unto meThat I a world of true delightDid then, and to this day do see.
That prospect was the gate of Heaven, that dayThe ancient Light of Eden did conveyInto my soul: I was an Adam there,A little Adam in a sphere
Of joys! O there my ravisht senseWas entertained in Paradise,And had a sight of Innocence,Which was beyond all bound and price.
An antepast of Heaven sure!I on the Earth did reign,Within, without me, all was pure:I must become a child again.
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,]
- overshade v. t.
- To cover with shade; to render dark or gloomy; to overshadow. [AS. ofersceadwian. See Over, and Shade, and cf. Overshadow.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- admiration n.
- Wonder; astonishment. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Innocence 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, Innocence, in Poetical Works (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #61586, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/traherne-poems/innocence.html, id L13296.
Form and metre
Innocence is 60 lines in 15 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 15 stanzas. 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 8.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% 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 AABB mostA · boastA · withinB · sinB
- 2 ABAB overshadeA · brightB · invadeA · lightB
- 3 -A-A purity · rememberA · bright · decemberA
- 4 AABB employA · joyA · flyB · eyeB
- 5 ABAB didA · loveB · hidA · removeB
- 6 ABAB iA · seeB · eyeA · meB
- 7 AABB feelA · kneelA · strifeB · lifeB
- 8 -A-A mov'd · spiteA · lov'd · delightA
- 9 ABAB blissA · feelB · thisA · kneelB
- 10 AABB pureA · sureA · removeB · loveB
- 11 ABAB dayA · foundB · rayA · surroundB
- 12 ABAB lightA · meB · delightA · seeB
- 13 AABB dayA · conveyA · thereB · sphereB
- 14 ABAB senseA · paradiseB · innocenceA · priceB
- 15 ABAB sureA · reignB · pureA · againB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| But that which most I wonder at, which most | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I did esteem my bliss, which most I boast, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And ever shall enjoy, is that within | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| I felt no stain nor spot of sin. | 8 | ········ |
| No darkness then did overshade, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But all within was pure and bright, | 8 | ········ |
| No guilt did crush nor fear invade, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But all my soul was full of light. | 8 | ········ |
| A joyful sense and purity | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Is all I can remember, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| The very night to me was bright, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Twas Summer in December. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| A serious meditation did employ | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| My soul within, which taken up with joy | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Did seem no outward thing to note, but fly | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| All objects that do feed the eye, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| While it those very objects did | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Admire and prize and praise and love, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Which in their glory most are hid, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which presence only doth remove. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Their constant daily presence I | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Rejoicing at, did see, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| And that which takes them from the eye | 8 | ········ |
| Of others offered them to me. | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| No inward inclination did I feel | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| To avarice or pride; my soul did kneel | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| In admiration all the day. No lust, nor strife, | 12 | ··˘/˘······· |
| Polluted then my infant life. | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| No fraud nor anger in me mov'd | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No malice, jealousy, or spite; | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| All that I saw I truly lov'd: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Contentment only and delight | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Were in my soul. O Heav'n! what bliss | 8 | ········ |
| Did I enjoy and feel! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| What powerful delight did this | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Inspire! for this I daily kneel. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Whether it be that Nature is so pure, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And custom only vicious; or that sure | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| God did by miracle the guilt remove, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| And made my soul to feel his Love | 8 | ········ |
| So early: or that 'twas one day, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wherein this happiness I found, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Whose strength and brightness so do ray, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That still it seems me to surround, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Whate'er it is, it is a Light | 9 | ˘˘/······ |
| So endless unto me | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That I a world of true delight | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Did then, and to this day do see. | 8 | ········ |
| That prospect was the gate of Heaven, that day | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| The ancient Light of Eden did convey | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Into my soul: I was an Adam there, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A little Adam in a sphere | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Of joys! O there my ravisht sense | 8 | ········ |
| Was entertained in Paradise, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| And had a sight of Innocence, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Which was beyond all bound and price. | 8 | ········ |
| An antepast of Heaven sure! | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| I on the Earth did reign, | 6 | ······ |
| Within, without me, all was pure: | 8 | ········ |
| I must become a child again. | 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.