The Buried Life Poem by Matthew Arnold

The Buried Life

Rating: 3.1


Light flows our war of mocking words, and yet,
Behold, with tears mine eyes are wet!
I feel a nameless sadness o'er me roll.
Yes, yes, we know that we can jest,
We know, we know that we can smile!
But there's a something in this breast,
To which thy light words bring no rest,
And thy gay smiles no anodyne.
Give me thy hand, and hush awhile,
And turn those limpid eyes on mine,
And let me read there, love! thy inmost soul.

Alas! is even love too weak
To unlock the heart, and let it speak?
Are even lovers powerless to reveal
To one another what indeed they feel?
I knew the mass of men conceal'd
Their thoughts, for fear that if reveal'd
They would by other men be met
With blank indifference, or with blame reproved;
I knew they lived and moved
Trick'd in disguises, alien to the rest
Of men, and alien to themselves--and yet
The same heart beats in every human breast!

But we, my love!--doth a like spell benumb
Our hearts, our voices?--must we too be dumb?

Ah! well for us, if even we,
Even for a moment, can get free
Our heart, and have our lips unchain'd;
For that which seals them hath been deep-ordain'd!

Fate, which foresaw
How frivolous a baby man would be--
By what distractions he would be possess'd,
How he would pour himself in every strife,
And well-nigh change his own identity--
That it might keep from his capricious play
His genuine self, and force him to obey
Even in his own despite his being's law,
Bade through the deep recesses of our breast
The unregarded river of our life
Pursue with indiscernible flow its way;
And that we should not see
The buried stream, and seem to be
Eddying at large in blind uncertainty,
Though driving on with it eternally.

But often, in the world's most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
In tracking out our true, original course;
A longing to inquire
Into the mystery of this heart which beats
So wild, so deep in us--to know
Whence our lives come and where they go.
And many a man in his own breast then delves,
But deep enough, alas! none ever mines.
And we have been on many thousand lines,
And we have shown, on each, spirit and power;
But hardly have we, for one little hour,
Been on our own line, have we been ourselves--
Hardly had skill to utter one of all
The nameless feelings that course through our breast,
But they course on for ever unexpress'd.
And long we try in vain to speak and act
Our hidden self, and what we say and do
Is eloquent, is well--but 't#is not true!
And then we will no more be rack'd
With inward striving, and demand
Of all the thousand nothings of the hour
Their stupefying power;
Ah yes, and they benumb us at our call!
Yet still, from time to time, vague and forlorn,
From the soul's subterranean depth upborne
As from an infinitely distant land,
Come airs, and floating echoes, and convey
A melancholy into all our day.
Only--but this is rare--
When a belov{'e}d hand is laid in ours,
When, jaded with the rush and glare
Of the interminable hours,
Our eyes can in another's eyes read clear,
When our world-deafen'd ear
Is by the tones of a loved voice caress'd--
A bolt is shot back somewhere in our breast,
And a lost pulse of feeling stirs again.
The eye sinks inward, and the heart lies plain,
And what we mean, we say, and what we would, we know.
A man becomes aware of his life's flow,
And hears its winding murmur; and he sees
The meadows where it glides, the sun, the breeze.

And there arrives a lull in the hot race
Wherein he doth for ever chase
That flying and elusive shadow, rest.
An air of coolness plays upon his face,
And an unwonted calm pervades his breast.
And then he thinks he knows
The hills where his life rose,
And the sea where it goes.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Chinedu Dike 31 May 2015

Very deep love and romantic piece of poetry, insightfully penned with conviction. A powerful poem indeed. Thanks for sharing.10/10

4 1 Reply
Rose Marie Juan-austin 26 September 2023

What a powerful and insightful poem. So beautifully expressed.

0 0 Reply
aniya 12 April 2018

the man is scare and it coves the thougt of the pome

1 4 Reply
Terry Craddock 31 May 2015

I knew the mass of men conceal'd Their thoughts, for fear that if reveal'd They would by other men be met With blank indifference, or with blame reproved; I knew they lived and moved Trick'd in disguises, alien to the rest Of men, and alien to themselves- and yet The same heart beats in every human breast! A very deep well penned poem worthy of several readings and meditation upon the meaning of lines. So much of Matthew Arnold's poetry is written with reflective beauty or a deep insight, I am often drawn in to think upon and explore similar themes, ideas tugging at meanings in life. Poems can be read so many ways and great poems such as this poem, will offer highlighted different focuses themes emotions upon different readings. Only one major theme will I address here, and in focus only one line, because the sentiment and meaning of the above which Matthew defines I agree with totally; yet all hearts are not the same because 'The same heart beats in every human breast! ' is true in the sense of an organic organ with the same purpose, yet same hearts are younger stronger or healthier than others, and metaphorically the same is true of the intentions sincerity purity of our beliefs and goodwill to others or not, what a beautiful world we would live in if all heats shared the desires aspirations of Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha to name but three. To return to the beginning Light flows our war of mocking words, and yet, Behold, with tears mine eyes are wet! I feel a nameless sadness o'er me roll. The poem 'The Buried Life' by Matthew Arnold is not a 5.5 as presently voted here, but a 10+++ for me, and thus I have voted, because this is a wonderful poem, ill judged perhaps because it is long and cannot be grasped in one swift rapid read?

11 1 Reply
M Asim Nehal 18 February 2019

Very well said, he is much more than the ratings but who cares.

1 0
Samantha Belsey 31 May 2015

Timeless poetic perfection. Touches the heart and soul with words expertly woven.

3 1 Reply
Samantha Belsey 31 May 2015

This is a insightful powerful poem and it resonated with me on a personal level. thank you

2 0 Reply
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Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold

Middlesex / England
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