Analysis of The Voice of Toil
William Morris 1834 (Walthamstow) – 1896 (London)
I heard men saying, Leave hope and praying,
All days shall be as all have been;
To-day and to-morrow bring fear and sorrow,
The never-ending toil between.
When Earth was younger mid toil and hunger,
In hope we strove, and our hands were strong;
Then great men led us, with words they fed us,
And bade us right the earthly wrong.
Go read in story their deeds and glory,
Their names amidst the nameless dead;
Turn then from lying to us slow-dying
In that good world to which they led;
Where fast and faster our iron master,
The thing we made, for ever drives,
Bids us grind treasure and fashion pleasure
For other hopes and other lives.
Where home is a hovel and dull we grovel,
Forgetting that the world is fair;
Where no babe we cherish, lest its very soul perish;
Where mirth is crime, and love a snare.
Who now shall lead us, what God shall heed us
As we lie in the hell our hands have won?
For us are no rulers but fools and befoolers,
The great are fallen, the wise men gone.
I heard men saying, Leave tears and praying,
The sharp knife heedeth not the sheep;
Are we not stronger than the rich and the wronger,
When day breaks over dreams and sleep?
Come, shoulder to shoulder ere the world grows older!
Help lies in nought but thee and me;
Hope is before us, the long years that bore us
Bore leaders more than men may be.
Let dead hearts tarry and trade and marry,
And trembling nurse their dreams of mirth,
While we the living our lives are giving
To bring the bright new world to birth.
Come, shoulder to shoulder ere Earth grows older!
The Cause spreads over land and sea;
Now the world shaketh, and fear awaketh,
And joy at last for thee and me.
Scheme | AXBX CDED FGAG CXCX XHXH EXEX AIBI CFEF FJAJ CFJF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (70%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111011010 11111111 11011011010 01010101 1111011010 0111010101 1111111111 01110101 1101011010 11010101 1111011110 01111111 11010101010 01111101 1111001010 11010101 11101001110 01010111 1111101110110 11110101 1111111111 11100110111 1111101101 011100111 1111011010 0111101 11110101001 11110101 110110101110 11011101 11011011111 11011111 1111001010 010011111 11010101110 11011111 11011011110 01110101 1011011 01111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,625 |
Words | 316 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 122 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Voice of Toil" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41177/the-voice-of-toil>.
Discuss this William Morris poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In