Wonder
How like an Angel came I down!How bright are all things here!When first among His works I did appearO how their Glory me did crown!The world resembled His Eternity,In which my soul did walk;And every thing that I did seeDid with me talk.
The skies in their magnificence,The lively, lovely air;Oh how divine, how soft, how sweet, how fair!The stars did entertain my sense,And all the works of God, so bright and pure,So rich and great did seem,As if they ever must endureIn my esteem.
A native health and innocenceWithin my bones did grow,And while my God did all his Glories show,I felt a vigour in my senseThat was all Spirit. I within did flowWith seas of life, like wine;I nothing in the world did knowBut 'twas divine.
Harsh ragged objects were concealed,Oppressions, tears and cries,Sins, griefs, complaints, dissensions, weeping eyesWere hid, and only things revealedWhich heavenly Spirits and the Angels prize.The state of InnocenceAnd bliss, not trades and poverties,Did fill my sense.
The streets were paved with golden stones,The boys and girls were mine,Oh how did all their lovely faces shine!The sons of men were holy ones,In joy and beauty they appeared to me,And every thing which here I found,While like an angel I did see,Adorned the ground.
Rich diamond and pearl and goldIn every place was seen;Rare splendours, yellow, blue, red, white and green,Mine eyes did everywhere behold.Great Wonders clothed with glory did appear,Amazement was my bliss,That and my wealth was everywhere;No joy to this!
Cursed and devised proprieties,With envy, avariceAnd fraud, those fiends that spoil even Paradise,Flew from the splendour of mine eyes,And so did hedges, ditches, limits, bounds,I dreamed not aught of those,But wandered over all men's grounds,And found repose.
Proprieties themselves were mineAnd hedges ornaments,Walls, boxes, coffers, and their rich contentsDid not divide my joys, but all combine.Clothes, ribbons, jewels, laces, I esteemedMy joys by others worn:For me they all to wear them seemedWhen I was born.
Words in this poem
- magnificence n.
- The act of doing what magnificent; the state or quality of being magnificent. Acts xix. 27. [F. magnificence, L. magnificentia. See Magnific.]
- vigour v. t.
- To invigorate. Feltham.
- amazement n.
- The condition of being amazed; bewilderment ; overwhelming wonder, as from surprise, sudden fear, horror, or admiration.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- 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.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Wonder 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, Wonder, in Poetical Works (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #61586, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/traherne-poems/wonder.html, id L13294.
Form and metre
Wonder is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABBABCBC, in 2 of the 8 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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-C-C downA · hereB · appearB · crownA · eternity · walkC · see · talkC
- 2 -AA-BCBC magnificence · airA · fairA · sense · pureB · seemC · endureB · esteemC
- 3 ABBABCBC innocenceA · growB · showB · senseA · flowB · wineC · knowB · divineC
- 4 ABBABCBC concealedA · criesB · eyesB · revealedA · prizeB · innocenceC · povertiesB · senseC
- 5 -AA-BCBC stones · mineA · shineA · ones · meB · foundC · seeB · groundC
- 6 ABBACDCD goldA · seenB · greenB · beholdA · appearC · blissD · everywhereC · thisD
- 7 ABBACDCD proprietiesA · avariceB · paradiseB · eyesA · boundsC · thoseD · groundsC · reposeD
- 8 A--ABCBC mineA · ornaments · contents · combineA · esteemedB · wornC · seemedB · bornC
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| How like an Angel came I down! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| How bright are all things here! | 6 | ······ |
| When first among His works I did appear | 10 | ········˘/ |
| O how their Glory me did crown! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The world resembled His Eternity, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| In which my soul did walk; | 6 | ······ |
| And every thing that I did see | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Did with me talk. | 4 | ···· |
| The skies in their magnificence, | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| The lively, lovely air; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Oh how divine, how soft, how sweet, how fair! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The stars did entertain my sense, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And all the works of God, so bright and pure, | 10 | ·········· |
| So rich and great did seem, | 6 | ······ |
| As if they ever must endure | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| In my esteem. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| A native health and innocence | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Within my bones did grow, | 6 | ······ |
| And while my God did all his Glories show, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I felt a vigour in my sense | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That was all Spirit. I within did flow | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With seas of life, like wine; | 6 | ······ |
| I nothing in the world did know | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But 'twas divine. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Harsh ragged objects were concealed, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Oppressions, tears and cries, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Sins, griefs, complaints, dissensions, weeping eyes | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Were hid, and only things revealed | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Which heavenly Spirits and the Angels prize. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The state of Innocence | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And bliss, not trades and poverties, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Did fill my sense. | 4 | ···· |
| The streets were paved with golden stones, | 9 | ····˘·/˘· |
| The boys and girls were mine, | 6 | ······ |
| Oh how did all their lovely faces shine! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The sons of men were holy ones, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In joy and beauty they appeared to me, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| And every thing which here I found, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| While like an angel I did see, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Adorned the ground. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Rich diamond and pearl and gold | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| In every place was seen; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Rare splendours, yellow, blue, red, white and green, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Mine eyes did everywhere behold. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Great Wonders clothed with glory did appear, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Amazement was my bliss, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| That and my wealth was everywhere; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No joy to this! | 4 | ···· |
| Cursed and devised proprieties, | 10 | ·˘·˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| With envy, avarice | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| And fraud, those fiends that spoil even Paradise, | 10 | ······//˘· |
| Flew from the splendour of mine eyes, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And so did hedges, ditches, limits, bounds, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| I dreamed not aught of those, | 6 | ······ |
| But wandered over all men's grounds, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| And found repose. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Proprieties themselves were mine | 8 | ˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| And hedges ornaments, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Walls, boxes, coffers, and their rich contents | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Did not divide my joys, but all combine. | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Clothes, ribbons, jewels, laces, I esteemed | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| My joys by others worn: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For me they all to wear them seemed | 9 | ········˘ |
| When I was born. | 4 | ···· |
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.