The Dream Of Man Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCB DEAEFGAGHIJIAAKALMLM NOPOQRCRQQLQSTJTLUCU VWCWPXLX AYZYAA2B2A2NCC NNSNPC2LC2NNLND2NC ANPN NCNLE2LE2NF2LF2QCAC NNNNNNCNLCQ HG2NG2QNANPH2AH2NALI 2 AN NLJ2CJ2QK2LK2CNC ANLNLCQCACLCAQQQ LL2NL2QALANNANNCLC LM2L M2 LM2LNM2 LM2M2 M2 QQM2QN2NA NE2O2E2NM2AM2NANAALN LAANA P2N2QN2AN NLM2AM2NALAALQ AM2CM2LNANACNC NM2AM2L

To the eye and the ear of the DreamerA
This Dream out of darkness flewB
Through the horn or the ivory portalC
But he wist not which of the twoB
-
It was the Human SpiritD
Of all men's souls the SoulE
Man the unwearied climberA
That climbed to the unknown goalE
And up the steps of the agesF
The difficult steep ascentG
Man the unwearied climberA
Pauseless and dauntless wentG
ons rolled behind himH
With thunder of far retreatI
And still as he strove he conqueredJ
And laid his foes at his feetI
Inimical powers of natureA
Tempest and flood and fireA
The spleen of fickle seasonsK
That loved to baulk his desireA
The breath of hostile climatesL
The ravage of blight and dearthM
The old unrest that vexesL
The heart of the moody earthM
The genii swift and radiantN
Sabreing heaven with flameO
He with a keener weaponP
The sword of his wit overcameO
Disease and her ravening offspringQ
Pain with the thousand teethR
He drave into night primevalC
The nethermost worlds beneathR
Till the Lord of Death the undyingQ
Ev'n Asra l the KingQ
No more with Furies for heraldsL
Came armed with scourge and stingQ
But gentle of voice and of visageS
By calm Age ushered and ledT
A guest serenely featuredJ
Entering woke no dreadT
And as the rolling onsL
Retreated with pomp of soundU
Man's spirit grown too lordlyC
For this mean orb to boundU
By arts in his youth undreamed ofV
His terrene fetters brokeW
With enterprise etherealC
Spurning the natal yokeW
And stung with divine ambitionP
And fired with a glorious greedX
He annexed the stars and the planetsL
And peopled them with his seedX
-
Then said he 'The infinite ScriptureA
I have read and interpreted clearY
And searching all worlds I have found notZ
My sovereign or my peerY
In what room of the palace of natureA
Resides the invisible GodA2
For all her doors I have openedB2
And all her floors I have trodA2
If greater than I be her tenantN
Let him answer my challenging callC
Till then I admit no rivalC
But crown myself master of all '-
And forth as that word went bruitedN
By Man unto Man were raisedN
Fanes of devout self homageS
Where he who praised was the praisedN
And from vast unto vast of creationP
The new evangel ranC2
And an odour of world wide incenseL
Went up from Man unto ManC2
Until on a solemn feast dayN
When the world's usurping lordN
At a million impious altarsL
His own proud image adoredN
God spake as He stept from His ambushD2
'O great in thine own conceitN
I will show thee thy source how humbleC
Thy goal for a god how unmeet '-
-
Thereat by the word of the MakerA
The Spirit of Man was ledN
To a mighty peak of visionP
Where God to His creature saidN
'Look eastward toward time's sunrise '-
And age upon age untoldN
The Spirit of Man saw clearlyC
The Past as a chart out rolledN
Beheld his base beginningsL
In the depths of time and his strifeE2
With beasts and crawling horrorsL
For leave to live when lifeE2
Meant but to slay and to procreateN
To feed and to sleep amongF2
Mere mouths voracities boundlessL
Blind lusts desires without tongueF2
And ferocities vast fulfillingQ
Their being's malignant lawC
While nature was one hungerA
And one hate all fangs and mawC
-
With that for a single momentN
Abashed at his own descentN
In humbleness Man's SpiritN
At the feet of the Maker bentN
But swifter than light he recoveredN
The stature and pose of his prideN
And 'Think not thus to shame meC
With my mean birth ' he criedN
'This is my loftiest greatnessL
To have been born so lowC
Greater than Thou the ungrowingQ
Am I that for ever grow '-
And God forbore to rebuke himH
But answered brief and sternG2
Bidding him toward time's sunsetN
His vision westward turnG2
And the Spirit of Man obeyingQ
Beheld as a chart out rolledN
The likeness and form of the FutureA
Age upon age untoldN
Beheld his own meridianP
And beheld his dark declineH2
His secular fall to nadirA
From summits of light divineH2
Till at last amid worlds exhaustedN
And bankrupt of force and fireA
'Twas his in a torrent of darknessL
Like a sputtering lamp to expireI2
-
Then a war of shame and angerA
Did the realm of his soul divideN
''Tis false 'tis a lying vision '-
In the face of his God he criedN
'Thou thinkest to daunt me with shadowsL
Not such as Thou feign'st is my doomJ2
From glory to rise unto gloryC
Is mine who have risen from gloomJ2
I doubt if Thou knew'st at my makingQ
How near to thy throne I should climbK2
O'er the mountainous slopes of the agesL
And the conquered peaks of timeK2
Nor shall I look backward nor rest meC
Till the uttermost heights I have trodN
And am equalled with Thee or above TheeC
The mate or the master of God '-
-
Ev'n thus Man turned from the MakerA
With thundered defiance wildN
And God with a terrible silenceL
Reproved the speech of His childN
And man returned to his laboursL
And stiffened the neck of his willC
And the ons still went rollingQ
And his power was crescent stillC
But yet there remained to conquerA
One foe and the greatest althoughC
Despoiled of his ancient terrorsL
At heart as of old a foeC
Unmaker of all and renewerA
Who winnows the world with his wingQ
The Lord of Death the undyingQ
Ev'n Asra l the KingQ
-
And lo Man mustered his forcesL
The war of wars to wageL2
And with storm and thunder of onsetN
Did the foe of foes engageL2
And the Lord of Death the undyingQ
Was beset and harried soreA
In his immemorial fastnessL
At night's aboriginal coreA
And during years a thousandN
Man leaguered his enemy's holdN
While nature was one deep tremorA
And the heart of the world waxed coldN
Till the phantom battlements waveredN
And the ghostly fortress fellC
And Man with shadowy fettersL
Bound fast great Asra lC
-
So to each star in the heavensL
The exultant word was blownM2
The annunciation tremendousL
-
Death is overthrownM2
-
And Space in her ultimate bordersL
Prolonging the jubilant toneM2
With hollow ingeminationsL
SighedN
Death is overthrownM2
-
And God in His house of silenceL
Where He dwelleth aloof aloneM2
Paused in His tasks to hearkenM2
-
Death is overthrownM2
-
-
Then a solemn and high thanksgivingQ
By Man unto Man was sungQ
In his temples of self adorationM2
With his own multitudinous tongueQ
And he said to his Soul 'Rejoice thouN2
For thy last great foe lies boundN
Ev'n Asra l the UnmakerA
Unmade disarmed discrowned '-
-
And behold his Soul rejoiced notN
The breath of whose being was strifeE2
For life with nothing to vanquishO2
Seemed but the shadow of lifeE2
No goal invited and promisedN
And divinely provocative shoneM2
And Fear having fled her sisterA
Blest Hope in her train was goneM2
And the coping and crown of achievementN
Was hell than defeat more direA
The torment of all things compassedN
The plague of nought to desireA
And Man the invincible quellerA
Man with his foot on his foesL
In boundless satiety hungredN
Restless from utter reposeL
Victor of nature victorA
Of the prince of the powers of the airA
By mighty weariness vanquishedN
And crowned with august despairA
-
Then at his dreadful zenithP2
He cried unto God 'O ThouN2
Whom of old in my days of strivingQ
Methought I needed not nowN2
In this my abject gloryA
My hopeless and helpless mightN
Hearken and cheer and succour '-
And God from His lonely heightN
From eternity's passionless summitsL
On suppliant Man looked downM2
And His brow waxed human with pityA
Belying its awful crownM2
'Thy richest possession ' He answeredN
'Blest Hope will I restoreA
And the infinite wealth of weaknessL
Which was thy strength of yoreA
And I will arouse from slumberA
In his hold where bound he liesL
Thine enemy most beneficQ
O Asra l hear and rise '-
-
And a sound like the heart of natureA
Riven and cloven and tornM2
Announced to the ear universalC
Undying Death new bornM2
Sublime he rose in his fettersL
And shook the chains asideN
Ev'n as some mortal sleeperA
'Mid forests in autumntideN
Rises and shakes off lightlyA
The leaves that lightly fellC
On his limbs and his hair unheededN
While as yet he slumbered wellC
-
And Deity paused and hearkenedN
Then turned to the undivineM2
Saying 'O Man My creatureA
Thy lot was more blest than MineM2
I taste not delight of seL

William Watson



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