Charles Sorley
There is such change in all those fields,
Such motion rhythmic, ordered, free,
Where ever-glancing summer yields
Birth, fragrance, sunlight, immanency,
To make us view our rights of birth.
What shall we do? How shall we die?
We, captives of a roaming earth,
Mid shades that life and light deny.
Blank summer’s surfeit heaves in mist;
Dumb earth basks dewy-washed; while still
We whom Intelligence has kissed
Do make us shackles of our will.
And yet I know in each loud brain,
Round-clamped with laws and learning so,
Is madness more and lust of strain
Than earth’s jerked godlings e’er can know.
The false Delilah of our brain
Has set us round the millstone going.
O lust of roving! lust of pain!
Our hair will not be long in growing.
Like blinded Samson round we go.
We hear the grindstone groan and cry.
Yet we are kings, we know, we know.
What shall we do? How shall we die?
Take but our pauper’s gift of birth,
O let us from the grindstone free!
And tread the maddening gladdening earth
In strength close-braced with purity.
The earth is old; we ever new.
Our eyes should see no other sense
Than this, eternally to DO–
Our joy, our task, our recompense;
Up unexploréd mountains move,
Track tireless through great wastes afar,
Nor slumber in the arms of love,
Nor tremble on the brink of war;
Make Beauty and make Rest give place,
Mock Prudence loud–and she is gone,
Smite Satisfaction on the face
And tread the ghost of Ease upon.
Light-lipped and singing press we hard
Over old earth which now is worn,
Triumphant, buffetted and scarred,
By billows howled at, tempest-torn,
Toward blue horizons far away
(Which do not give the rest we need,
But some long strife, more than this play,
Some task that will be stern indeed)–
We ever new, we ever young,
We happy creatures of a day!
What will the gods say, seeing us strung
As nobly and as taut as they?
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem reflects on the tension between the human quest for purpose and the destructive forces of both nature and intellect. The first stanza sets the scene with a contrast between the vibrant, cyclical rhythms of nature and the limitations imposed on human existence. The “ever-glancing summer” represents the world’s continuous renewal, while humans, caught in the “shackles of our will,” are prisoners of their own decisions and knowledge. The suggestion that intelligence, instead of liberating, leads to further oppression, introduces the central conflict of the poem: the struggle between freedom and the constraints of thought.
The second stanza deepens this struggle by invoking the myth of Samson, a figure who is bound by both his own strength and his vulnerability. The “false Delilah” represents the seductive pull of desire and pain, which the speaker acknowledges as part of the human condition. Despite this, there is an awareness of power, with the repeated declaration “we are kings.” This line captures the paradox of human existence: even as we are bound by our desires and circumstances, we retain an intrinsic sense of authority over our fate. The repeated question “What shall we do? How shall we die?” suggests that, despite our awareness of this paradox, the answer remains elusive.
In the third stanza, the poem turns towards a more hopeful vision of liberation. The speaker calls for a rejection of the “millstone” of intellectual and emotional constraints, advocating for a return to the purity and strength of the earth. The imagery of climbing “unexplored mountains” and tracking “tireless through great wastes afar” suggests a yearning for adventure, exploration, and the refusal to settle for comfort or complacency. This is contrasted with the seductive pull of “love” and “war,” both of which are shown as distractions from the true task of creation and struggle. The desire for “Beauty” and “Rest” is replaced with a more dynamic pursuit of life—one that refuses ease in favor of challenge and transformation.
The poem concludes with a call to action, urging humanity to “press we hard” against the “old earth” that has been scarred by past struggles. The image of humans as “happy creatures of a day” captures both the fleeting nature of existence and the urgency to make the most of it. The question posed to the gods—”What will the gods say, seeing us strung / As nobly and as taut as they?”—suggests a defiance of fate and a determination to live life fully, even in the face of uncertainty and struggle.
Overall, the poem explores themes of human freedom, the search for purpose, and the tension between the desire for comfort and the need for challenge. It critiques the over-intellectualization of existence while celebrating the vitality of living with purpose and strength. The final question to the gods hints at a desire to prove that humans, despite their flaws and limitations, are capable of great things—if only they can break free from the constraints that bind them.