The Buried Life
By Matthew Arnold
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 concealed
Their thoughts, for fear that if revealed
They would by other men be met
With blank indifference, or with blame reproved;
I knew they lived and moved
Tricked in disguises, alien to the rest
Of men, and alien to themselves—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 unchained;
For that which seals them hath been deep-ordained!
Fate which foresaw
How frivolous a baby man would be
By what distractions he would be possessed,
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 unexpressed.
And long we try in vain to speak and act
Our hidden self, and what we say and do
Is eloquent, is well— 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—this is rare—
When a belovèd 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 caressed—
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.
Unveiling “The Buried Life”: A Journey to the Soul
Welcome, fellow explorers of language and thought, to a profound journey into Matthew Arnold’s timeless poem, “The Buried Life.” This remarkable work, penned by the celebrated 19th-century English poet and critic, invites us to look beyond the surface of everyday interactions and delve into the hidden depths of human experience. It is a poem that resonates deeply with anyone who has ever felt a disconnect between their outward persona and their inner self, making it a beloved piece across the globe.
What is “The Buried Life” About?
“The Buried Life” explores the universal human struggle to express our true selves and connect authentically with others. The poem opens with a speaker reflecting on a conversation filled with “mocking words,” yet shadowed by an underlying sadness. Despite engaging in lighthearted jest, the speaker yearns for a deeper connection, wishing to “read there, love! thy inmost soul.” This yearning quickly expands into a broader contemplation of human nature. The speaker observes that people often conceal their genuine feelings, fearing “blank indifference, or with blame reproved,” leading them to live “Tricked in disguises, alien to the rest Of men, and alien to themselves.”
The central idea of “The Buried Life” is that we all possess an authentic, inner self—a “buried life”—that remains largely hidden, even from ourselves. This hidden self is like an “unregarded river of our life” flowing beneath the surface of our conscious existence. The poem laments the loss of this authentic connection and expresses a deep desire to rediscover it. It suggests that while we may pursue countless paths and display “spirit and power” in the world, we rarely, if ever, truly “have we been ourselves.”
The Core Message: Discovering the Authentic Self
At its heart, “The Buried Life” is a powerful meditation on self-discovery, the concealment of true feelings, and the elusive nature of authentic existence. Arnold highlights the universal human desire to understand our inner selves, to uncover the mysteries of our hearts and minds. This pursuit, however, is often frustrated by the distractions of daily life and the fear of vulnerability. The poem suggests that this concealment is not merely a choice, but a “deep-ordained” aspect of human fate, designed to protect our “genuine self” from the “capricious play” of a “frivolous a baby man.”
Despite these barriers, the poem offers a glimmer of hope. It suggests that rare moments of genuine connection, often found in the intimacy of love, can briefly lift the veil. In these precious instances, “A bolt is shot back somewhere in our breast, And a lost pulse of feeling stirs again.” It is then that “The eye sinks inward, and the heart lies plain,” allowing us to truly know “what we mean, we say, and what we would, we know.” This fleeting awareness allows an individual to perceive “his life’s flow,” understanding “The hills where his life rose, And the sea where it goes.” This profound insight into our origins and destiny is the ultimate reward of uncovering the buried life.
A Deep Dive into “The Buried Life”: Literary and Poetic Craft
Matthew Arnold masterfully employs a rich tapestry of literary and poetic devices to imbue “The Buried Life” with its profound meaning and emotional resonance. Let us explore how these elements work together to create such a compelling and memorable poem.
Literary Devices: Shaping Meaning and Emotion
- Metaphor: Arnold uses metaphor to create vivid comparisons that deepen the poem’s central theme. The most prominent is the “buried life” itself, representing the hidden, authentic self. This is further elaborated with the image of “The unregarded river of our life” which “Pursue with indiscernible flow its way,” suggesting a subconscious current of existence. Later, the pursuit of rest is described as chasing “That flying and elusive shadow, rest,” highlighting its ephemeral nature.
- Symbolism: Various elements in the poem function as symbols. The “buried stream” and “unregarded river” symbolize the hidden depths of the soul and the authentic self. “The world’s most crowded streets” and “the din of strife” symbolize the distractions and superficiality of external life that prevent self-reflection. The “hills where his life rose, And the sea where it goes” symbolize the origin and ultimate destination of one’s existence, understood only when the buried life is glimpsed.
- Imagery: Arnold paints evocative pictures with his words, appealing to our senses and emotions. We visualize “tears mine eyes are wet” and “limpid eyes.” The poem describes the “winding murmur” of life’s flow and the serene vision of “The meadows where it glides, the sun, the breeze,” creating a sense of calm and clarity.
- Personification: Abstract concepts are given human qualities, making them more relatable. “Fate which foresaw” is personified as an entity with foresight, dictating human nature. The “unregarded river of our life” is said to “Pursue with indiscernible flow its way,” as if it has agency. Even the “heart lies plain” in moments of truth, suggesting it has a will to reveal itself.
- Rhetorical Questions: The speaker poses questions not necessarily for an answer, but to provoke thought and emphasize a point. For example, “Alas! is even love too weak To unlock the heart, and let it speak?” highlights the profound difficulty of genuine connection. Similarly, “Are even lovers powerless to reveal To one another what indeed they feel?” underscores the pervasive nature of emotional concealment.
- Juxtaposition and Contrast: Arnold frequently places opposing ideas side by side to highlight their differences and the poem’s central conflict. The “Light flows our war of mocking words” is immediately contrasted with “with tears mine eyes are wet,” showing the disconnect between outward appearance and inner feeling. The “din of strife” is set against the “unwonted calm” found in moments of self-awareness.
- Irony: A subtle irony exists in the speaker’s lament that “Alas! is even love too weak To unlock the heart.” Love, often seen as the ultimate bond, is presented as insufficient to overcome the deeply ingrained human tendency to conceal the self, underscoring the profound challenge of true intimacy.
- Paradox: The poem explores paradoxical ideas, such as the tension between our desire for freedom and the “deep-ordained” nature of our hidden selves. We “try in vain to speak and act Our hidden self,” and what we say “Is eloquent, is well— t is not true!” This highlights the complex struggle to be authentic when our very expressions can betray our true feelings.
- Repetition: The strategic use of repetition emphasizes key ideas and emotional states. Phrases like “Yes, yes, we know that we can jest, We know, we know that we can smile!” underscore the speaker’s insistence on the commonality of superficiality and hidden sadness. The repeated “But often, in the world’s most crowded streets, But often, in the din of strife,” stresses the persistent, almost desperate, yearning for self-knowledge amidst life’s chaos.
- Metonymy: Arnold uses metonymy when he refers to “the world’s most crowded streets” to represent the larger social world and its pressures, rather than just literal thoroughfares. This substitution adds symbolic depth, suggesting that society itself is a place of distraction and superficiality.
Poetic Devices: Crafting Sound and Structure
- Meter and Rhythm: “The Buried Life” does not adhere to a strict, uniform meter like some traditional poems. Instead, Arnold employs a varied rhythm, often leaning towards iambic but with fluctuating line lengths and stresses. This flexibility allows the poem’s rhythm to ebb and flow, mirroring the shifting emotional states and the stream-of-consciousness exploration of the speaker’s thoughts. The changing rhythm prevents monotony and keeps the reader engaged in the unfolding introspection.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem utilizes an irregular rhyme scheme, which contributes to its conversational and reflective tone. While not strictly consistent, rhymes appear throughout, often in couplets or quatrains, such as “yet” and “wet,” or “roll” and “soul.” This varied rhyme adds a musicality without imposing a rigid structure, allowing the ideas to flow more naturally.
- Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds enhances the poem’s lyrical quality and draws attention to specific phrases. Examples include “winding murmur” and “soul’s subterranean depth,” which create a pleasing sound and reinforce the imagery.
- Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words creates internal rhymes and contributes to the poem’s musicality. Notice the long ‘e’ sound in “deep recesses of our breast” or the ‘o’ sound in “indiscernible flow.” These subtle echoes add to the poem’s rich texture.
- Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words, often with different vowel sounds, adds to the poem’s sonic richness. For instance, the ‘s’ sound in “breast… rest” or the ‘l’ sound in “feeling stirs again.”
- Enjambment: Arnold frequently uses enjambment, where lines run on from one to the next without a grammatical pause. This technique creates a sense of continuous thought and natural speech, drawing the reader forward. Consider: “I knew the mass of men concealed
Their thoughts, for fear that if revealed
They would by other men be met
With blank indifference, or with blame reproved.” This unbroken flow mirrors the continuous, often unexpressed, current of the buried life.
Key Passages for Reflection
Certain lines from “The Buried Life” stand out for their profound insight and beauty, serving as excellent starting points for discussions about life, authenticity, and the human condition. The poem’s conclusion, in particular, offers a moment of serene understanding:
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.
This passage beautifully captures the rare, precious moments when an individual connects with their authentic self, finding a sense of peace and understanding amidst life’s relentless demands. It speaks to the universal human desire for clarity about our purpose and journey.
The Enduring Echo of the Buried Life
“The Buried Life” remains a powerful and relevant poem, inviting readers to pause and reflect on their own inner worlds. Matthew Arnold’s masterful use of literary and poetic devices creates a rich, layered experience that explores the profound human longing for authenticity and connection. By understanding the poem’s summary, central ideas, and intricate craftsmanship, we gain not only a deeper appreciation for Arnold’s genius but also a clearer lens through which to examine our own lives. May this exploration inspire you to seek out and cherish those rare moments when your own “buried life” comes to the surface, offering clarity, calm, and a true sense of self.