Can any mortal clog come to her?
Can any mortal clog come to her?It can: ...But Benjamin, in his vexation,Possesses inward consolation;He knows his ground, and hopes to findA spot with all things to his mind,An upright mural block of stone,Moist with pure water trickling down.A slender spring; but kind to manIt is, a true Samaritan;Close to the highway, pouring outIts offering from a chink or spout;Whence all, howe'er athirst, or droopingWith toil, may drink, and without stooping.
Cries Benjamin, "Where is it, where?Voice it hath none, but must be near."--A star, declining towards the west,Upon the watery surface threwIts image tremulously imprest,That just marked out the object and withdrew:Right welcome service! ...
Light is the strain, but not unjustTo Thee and thy memorial-trust,That once seemed only to expressLove that was love in idleness;Tokens, as year hath followed year,How changed, alas, in character!For they were graven on thy smooth breastBy hands of those my soul loved best;Meek women, men as true and braveAs ever went to a hopeful grave:Their hands and mine, when side by sideWith kindred zeal and mutual pride,We worked until the Initials tookShapes that defied a scornful look.--Long as for us a genial feelingSurvives, or one in need of healing,The power, dear Rock, around thee cast,Thy monumental power, shall lastFor me and mine! O thought of pain,That would impair it or profane!Take all in kindness then, as saidWith a staid heart but playful head;And fail not Thou, loved Rock! to keepThy charge when we are laid asleep.
Words in this poem
- benjamin n.
- A kind of upper coat for men.
- mural a.
- Of or pertaining to a wall; being on, or in, a wall; growing on, or against, a wall; as, a mural quadrant. [F., fr. L. muralis, fr. murus wall. See Mure a wall.]
- samaritan a.
- Of or pertaining to Samaria, in Palestine. [L. Samaritanus.]
- athirst a.
- Wanting drink; thirsty. [OE. ofthurst, AS. ofpyrsted, p. p. of ofpyrstan; pref. of-, intensive + pyrstan to thirst. See Thirst.]
- imprest v. t.
- To advance on loan. Burke. [Pref. im- + prest: cf. It. imprestare. See Prest, n.]
- graven p. p.
- Carved. Graven image, an idol; an object of worship carved from wood, stone, etc.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- hopeful a.
- Full of hope, or agreeable expectation; inclined to hope; expectant.
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- monumental a.
- Of, pertaining to, or suitable for, a monument; as, a monumental inscription. [L. monumentalis: cf. F. monumental.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Can any mortal clog come to her? is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12383; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Wordsworth, Can any mortal clog come to her?, in The Prelude, and Other Poems (1802–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12383, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol3/can-any-mortal-clog-come-to-her.html, id L25596.
Form and metre
Can any mortal clog come to her? is 45 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 76% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 -ABBCCBBABDDEE her · canA · vexationB · consolationB · findC · mindC · stoneB · downB · manA · samaritanB · outD · spoutD · droopingE · stoopingE
- 2 AABCBC- whereA · nearA · westB · threwC · imprestB · withdrewC · service
- 3 AABB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK unjustA · trustA · expressB · idlenessB · year · character · breastC · bestC · braveD · graveD · sideE · prideE · tookF · lookF · feelingG · healingG · castH · lastH · painI · profaneI · saidJ · headJ · keepK · asleepK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Can any mortal clog come to her? | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| It can: ... | 2 | ·· |
| But Benjamin, in his vexation, | 9 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| Possesses inward consolation; | 9 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| He knows his ground, and hopes to find | 8 | ········ |
| A spot with all things to his mind, | 8 | ········ |
| An upright mural block of stone, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Moist with pure water trickling down. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A slender spring; but kind to man | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It is, a true Samaritan; | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Close to the highway, pouring out | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Its offering from a chink or spout; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Whence all, howe'er athirst, or drooping | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| With toil, may drink, and without stooping. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Cries Benjamin, "Where is it, where? | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Voice it hath none, but must be near." | 8 | ········ |
| --A star, declining towards the west, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Upon the watery surface threw | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Its image tremulously imprest, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| That just marked out the object and withdrew: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Right welcome service! ... | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Light is the strain, but not unjust | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To Thee and thy memorial-trust, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| That once seemed only to express | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Love that was love in idleness; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Tokens, as year hath followed year, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| How changed, alas, in character! | 8 | ··˘/·/˘˘ |
| For they were graven on thy smooth breast | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| By hands of those my soul loved best; | 8 | ········ |
| Meek women, men as true and brave | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As ever went to a hopeful grave: | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Their hands and mine, when side by side | 8 | ········ |
| With kindred zeal and mutual pride, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| We worked until the Initials took | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Shapes that defied a scornful look.-- | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Long as for us a genial feeling | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Survives, or one in need of healing, | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| The power, dear Rock, around thee cast, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Thy monumental power, shall last | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| For me and mine! O thought of pain, | 8 | ········ |
| That would impair it or profane! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Take all in kindness then, as said | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With a staid heart but playful head; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And fail not Thou, loved Rock! to keep | 8 | ········ |
| Thy charge when we are laid asleep. | 8 | ······˘/ |
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