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.
Summary of The Buried Life
- Popularity of “The Buried Life” Written by the celebrated 19th‑century English poet, critic, and writer Matthew Arnold, “The Buried Life” is a lengthy yet deeply quotable poem. It explores profound thoughts about the inner workings of the human mind and contemplates the beginning and end of life. This exploration has made it a beloved piece across the globe.
- “The Buried Life” As a Representative of Expression of Inner Self The poem begins with the speaker reflecting on a conversation filled with “mocking words,” yet shadowed by an underlying sadness. He and a companion engage in jest, but the speaker yearns for a deeper connection, to read the inmost soul of the other. He acknowledges the human tendency to conceal true feelings, creating a barrier to genuine understanding. This leads to the realization that we often remain “dumb” to our own selves. Arnold suggests this concealment is a learned behavior, developing from infancy. The buried life symbolizes the authentic self hidden beneath layers of societal expectation and self‑deception. The poem is a lament for the loss of this authentic self and a yearning to reconnect with it.
- Major Themes in “The Buried Life” The poem grapples with the themes of 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. He suggests that this pursuit is often frustrated by the distractions of daily life and the fear of vulnerability. The poem’s central idea is that we all carry a “buried life” within us—an authentic self that is often hidden from others and even from ourselves.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Buried Life
Matthew Arnold masterfully employs a variety of literary devices to enhance the poem’s meaning and emotional impact.
- Alliteration: Examples include the repetition of the /s/ sound in “soul’s subterranean” and the /w/ sound in “And what we mean, we say, and what we would, we know.”
- Consonance: The poem often uses consonance, such as the repeated /t/ sound in “the world’s most crowded streets” and the /n/ sound in “beneath the world’s noise.”
- Rhetorical Devices: The poem incorporates rhetorical questions, as in “Are even lovers powerless to reveal to one another what indeed they feel?” and rhetorical statements that heighten its emotional resonance.
- Figures of Speech: The poem employs various figures of speech, including metaphor—such as the “unregarded river of our life”—and personification—like the “buried stream” that seems to be seen only by the soul.
- Imagery: Vivid images, such as “the hills where his life rose” and “the sea where it goes,” help the reader to visualize the emotional landscape Arnold describes.
- Metaphor: The poem’s central metaphor, the “buried life,” suggests an inner, hidden reality that the individual must seek to uncover.
- Simile: The poem contains similes, such as “the poem’s themes are as elusive as a wandering cloud.”
- Personification: Personification is used to animate abstract concepts, like the “unregarded river of our life” that pursues its indiscernible flow.
- Symbolism: Symbols such as the “world’s most crowded streets” and the “buried stream” stand for the broader human condition and the hidden depths of the soul.
- Repetition: The repeated use of “yes, yes” and “we know, we know” emphasizes the narrator’s insistence on the commonality of hidden grief.
- Paradox: The poem contains paradoxical statements, for example the tension between “freedom” and “deep‑ordained seals,” highlighting the complexity of human emotions.
- Foreshadowing: The poem’s opening line foreshadows the narrator’s sense that the world is a place of “mocking words” that ultimately conceal deeper feelings.
- Irony: There is a subtle irony in the narrator’s claim that “even love is too weak” to open the heart.
- Juxtaposition: The juxtaposition of “mocking words” with an underlying sadness illustrates the disconnect between outward conversation and inner feelings.
- Metonymy: Arnold uses metonymy by substituting “world’s most crowded streets” for the larger social world.
- Allusion: The poem references the age of Matthew Arnold, a period marked by the tension between tradition and modernity, thereby placing the poem in a broader cultural context.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Buried Life
In addition to literary devices, Arnold skillfully utilizes poetic techniques to create a compelling and memorable poem.
- Meter: The poem’s rhythmic structure is based on a free‑vers form that allows the narrator to explore a wide range of emotional states without a strict metric constraint.
- Voice: Arnold’s choice of first‑person narrative voice provides a personal and intimate perspective, placing the reader in direct contact with the narrator’s emotional state.
- Imagery: Vivid imagery is used throughout the poem to paint the reader’s mind with landscapes that mirror the narrator’s inner life.
- Sound: Arnold uses varied sound devices—such as alliteration and assonance—to heighten the poem’s lyrical quality and give it a musical rhythm.
- Symbolic Language: Arnold’s use of symbolism, such as the “buried stream,” “world’s most crowded streets,” and “unregarded river,” highlights the hidden nature of the narrator’s inner life.
- Contrast: The contrast between the outward “mocking words” and the inner “nameless sadness” underlines the poem’s theme of hidden emotion.
- Repetition: Repeated motifs, such as the phrase “we know, we know,” reinforce the narrator’s insistence that hidden grief is common to all.
- Personification: The poem uses personification to give emotional qualities to abstract ideas such as the “unregarded river” and the “buried stream.”
- Metaphor: The metaphor of the “buried life” as an authentic self hidden beneath social expectation emphasizes the human longing for truth.
- Allusion: Arnold’s allusion to the age of his life, a period marked by tension between tradition and modernity, places the poem in a broader cultural context.
- Paradox: Arnold’s paradoxical statements highlight the complexity of human emotions, such as “freedom” and “deep‑ordained seals.”
- Foreshadowing: The poem’s opening line foreshadows the narrator’s sense that the world is a place of “mocking words” that ultimately conceal deeper feelings.
- Irony: The narrator’s claim that “even love is too weak” to open the heart provides a subtle irony that underscores the limitations of human relationships.
- Juxtaposition: The juxtaposition of “mocking words” and the underlying sadness highlights the disconnect between outward conversation and inner feelings.
- Metonymy: Arnold’s substitution of “world’s most crowded streets” for the larger social world is a form of metonymy that adds symbolic depth to the poem.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are particularly poignant and insightful, serving as excellent starting points for discussions about life, authenticity, and the human condition.
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.