PoemHunter.com   
Immortality by Matthew Arnold   
Participate in our survey Search:
Search Poems, Poets, Quotations and Lyrics   
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
Matthew Arnold
#127
on top 500 Poets
Matthew Arnold
(1822-1888 / Middlesex / England)
63 poems of Matthew Arnold
click to download
Poet's Page  Biography  Poems  Quotations  Comments   Stats  
 
<< prev. poem Poems by Matthew Arnold : 20 / 61 next poem >>
  
  Immortality

User Rating:

5.7 /10
(109 votes)



  Foil'd by our fellow-men, depress'd, outworn,
We leave the brutal world to take its way,
And, Patience! in another life, we say
The world shall be thrust down, and we up-borne.

And will not, then, the immortal armies scorn
The world's poor, routed leavings? or will they,
Who fail'd under the heat of this life's day,
Support the fervours of the heavenly morn?

No, no! the energy of life may be
Kept on after the grave, but not begun;
And he who flagg'd not in the earthly strife,

From strength to strength advancing--only he,
His soul well-knit, and all his battles won,
Mounts, and that hardly, to eternal life.


Matthew Arnold

Submitted Date Sunday, May 06, 2001
Submitted Date Sunday, May 06, 2001



Read poems about / on: strength, world, life

<< prev. poem Poems by Matthew Arnold : 20 / 61 next poem >>
 
  Comments about this poem (Immortality by Matthew Arnold )
 
id Rather Notsay (1/4/2012 8:58:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
Yup that's why Jesus (pbuh) was born on Earth...He was a prophet in order to warn the Children of Israel and to give them news of Heaven and Hell. He wasn't God. God sent him as a messenger. Jesus (pbuh) confirmed the messages of the prophets before him; he didn't change its consistency. God can not be man because God is too glorious for that. Think.
Ramesh T A (9/7/2010 2:56:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
This world life is for those who face problems to solve for the better and not for the worn out souls; The capable persons of this world only can enjoy eternal life!
Bro Bytte (12/27/2009 9:38:00 PM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
We cannot achieve heaven alone. There is no getting to heaven by the 'skin of our teeth.' Humans along are not good enough. That is why Jesus came to the earth. He was perfect and he died for us, to make up for our imperfections. If we try our hardest to be like him, even though we don't come close, he will take us the rest of the way to Heaven. I know that. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. If you want to know for yourself just pray to God. I promise you he will answer.
saltedpeanut blank (9/7/2009 11:45:00 PM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
personally I think it reminds me of Norse mythology with only the brave souls in battle who have resolve to fight to the end for what they believe or their lively hood and die in battle. Of course I don't suppose I should give any one a history on the Valkyrie that take the souls of these men to Valhalla. I mean either that or the crusades fought in the medieval ages were both sides claimed they had a holy right to Jerusalem, and yes the crusaders we know now were mostly driven by money, but I don't think that would have been what Arnold learned of at any university of that time what with the subject of any corruption within the church such a touchy subject even hundreds of years later. I guess I'm trying to say Arnold died a while ago and I don't think he could be talking about the current war on terror, but rather the heroic Templar knights or maybe viking warriors. I mean that's just my thought on the subject take it how you want.
Frank James Ryan, Jr. (9/7/2009 5:34:00 PM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
As usual, fellow members, Mr.''look at me''Pruchniki has his literary interpretations as skewed-up as he does his handle on modern day history! Unless i've been reading the wrong newaspapers, speaking to the wrong politicians or watching the wrong wars, (live, on CNN, no less) ....It is not today's Christians who go to War for God, or for an alleged guaranteed ticket to Paradise Hereafter.
BTW: An excellent poem by a quantumly talented wordsmith, one Matthew Arnold.

FjR
Michael Pruchnicki (9/7/2009 4:14:00 PM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
Let's see now - Ravi tells us that the poet Matthew Arnold is not concerned with the subject of his sonnet 'Immortality, ' that 'such dreams in no way harm the world'! Straw asserts that 'Immortality' in no way comports with the Sermon on the Mount, which ignores all the advice in the Sermon to 'give alms in secrecy, ' to not pray like the hypocrites with many meaningless words, and to perform religious duties where only God may see!

It seems to me that Arnold takes a page from Christ's Sermon to warn the reader in the final lines of the sestet that at best to gain salvation just barely by the skin of one's teeth requires all the goodness one can muster in a lifetime of striving to reach the peak of one's goal - immortality in the eyes of God! Pagans do not have the same desire as a Christian who girds his loins and engages in daily combat for the glory of God!
Ravi A (9/7/2009 1:44:00 PM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
Whether we have a life hereafterwards or not, let us live in grace and dignity in this life. This is all we can do. The rest will be decided by time. Heaven is a wishful thinking to maintain continuity of this mortal world. Man needs such dreams to keep low of the fear of death. It is a mindset. Nobody has come back from death to tell us about heaven. If people need the dream about heaven for their mental existence, let them have it. Such dreams in no way harm the world.
Yodit Mussie (9/7/2009 11:47:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
its nice poem i really really love it
Yodit Mussie (9/7/2009 11:47:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
its nice poem i really really love it
Yodit Mussie (9/7/2009 11:47:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
its nice poem i really really love it
 

Read all 13 comments >>
 
People who read Arnold also read

 
 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman
    Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise
    Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me
    Pablo Neruda
  4. Dreams
    Langston Hughes
  5. The Road Not Taken
    Robert Frost
  6. Annabel Lee
    Edgar Allan Poe
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
    Pablo Neruda
  8. If
    Rudyard Kipling
  9. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Maya Angelou
  10. A Dream Within A Dream
    Edgar Allan Poe
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
 
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
2/14/2012 7:34:55 PM. #.# You Are Here: Immortality by Matthew Arnold

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | Game Gar | Oyun | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Nature Poems | Sorry Poems 

[Hata Bildir]