Apollo Musagetes

Matthew Arnold 1822 (Laleham) – 1888 (Liverpool)



Through the black, rushing smoke-bursts,
     Thick breaks the red flame;
     All Etna heaves fiercely
     Her forest-clothed frame.

     Not here, O Apollo!
     Are haunts meet for thee.
     But, where Helicon breaks down
     In cliff to the sea,

     Where the moon-silver'd inlets
   Send far their light voice
   Up the still vale of Thisbe,
   O speed, and rejoice!

   On the sward at the cliff-top
   Lie strewn the white flocks,
   On the cliff-side the pigeons
   Roost deep in the rocks.

   In the moonlight the shepherds,
   Soft lull'd by the rills,
   Lie wrapped in their blankets
   Asleep on the hills.

   --What forms are these coming
   So white through the gloom?
   What garments out-glistening
   The gold-flower'd broom?

   What sweet-breathing presence
   Out-perfumes the thyme?
   What voices enrapture
   The night's balmy prime?

   'Tis Apollo comes leading
   His choir, the Nine.
   --The leader is fairest,
   But all are divine.

  They are lost in the hollows!
   They stream up again!
   What seeks on this mountain
   The glorified train?--

   They bathe on this mountain,
   In the spring by their road;
   Then on to Olympus,
   Their endless abode.

   --Whose proase do they mention?
   Of what is it told?--
   What will be for ever;
   What was from of old.

  First hymn they the Father
   Of all things; and then,
   The rest of immortals,
   The action of men.

   The day in his hotness,
   The strife with the palm;
   The night in her silence,
   The stars in their calm.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 21, 2023

1:12 min read
99

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCB XCXC XDXD XEXE XAXX FGFG HIJI FKXK XLMX MNXN MOJO JLXL APHP
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,486
Words 238
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. more…

All Matthew Arnold poems | Matthew Arnold Books

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