Memorial Verses by Matthew Arnold – Summary, Analysis, Theme, and Translation

 Memorial Verses by Matthew Arnold – Summary, Analysis, Theme, and Translation

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Read a simple and complete explanation of Memorial Verses by Matthew Arnold, including poet’s bio, poem text, Hindi translation, summary, theme, poetic devices, and analysis in easy English.

🖋️ About the Poet: Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) was a famous English poet, critic, and essayist of the Victorian Age. He was born in Laleham, England. His father, Dr. Thomas Arnold, was the headmaster of Rugby School. Arnold’s poems often reflect deep feelings, moral thoughts, and sadness about the modern world. He worked as an inspector of schools, which helped him understand the social problems of his time.
Some of his famous poems are Dover Beach, The Scholar Gipsy, Thyrsis, and Memorial Verses. His poetry is known for calm tone, wisdom, and beauty.

📜 About the Poem: Memorial Verses

Memorial Verses was written by Matthew Arnold in April 1850 after the death of William Wordsworth. The poem is a tribute to Wordsworth, one of England’s greatest Romantic poets. Arnold compares Wordsworth to other poets like Byron and Goethe, showing how Wordsworth’s poetry brought peace and comfort to the human heart.
This poem expresses deep respect and love for Wordsworth, who gave people moral strength through his simple yet powerful verses.

📘 Text of the Poem: Memorial Verses

Goethe in Weimar sleeps, and Greece,
Long since, saw Byron’s struggle cease.
But one such death remain'd to come;
The last poetic voice is dumb—
We stand to-day by Wordsworth’s tomb.

When Byron’s eyes were shut in death,
We bow’d our heads and held our breath.
He taught us little; but our soul
Had felt him like the thunder’s roll.
With shivering heart the strife we saw
Of Passion with Eternal Law.

He taught us little; but our blood
Had felt his fire, and at his mood
A word could rouse, a deed appal;
And he taught temperance not at all.
But words like thine, serene and strong,
Were to our hearts a solemn song.

And Goethe’s sage mind, calm and deep,
Taught us to see, and pause, and keep
Our way, though life’s dark tempests blow,
And half our thought we may not show.
He bade us pause, and softly scan
Our nature’s powers, and learn, Man!

But thou, my Wordsworth! thou hast gone,
Whose voice alone could still the groan
Of the world’s weary heart; and bring
Peace to our souls through everything!

Hindi Translation of the Poem (Simplified)

वीमर में गोएथे सो रहे हैं,
और ग्रीस ने बहुत पहले बायरन का संघर्ष खत्म होते देखा।
अब एक और मृत्यु बाकी थी,
अंतिम कवि की आवाज़ भी अब मौन है—
हम आज वर्ड्सवर्थ की समाधि पर खड़े हैं।

जब बायरन की आँखें मृत्यु में बंद हुईं,
हमने सिर झुकाया और साँस रोकी।
उसने हमें बहुत कुछ नहीं सिखाया,
पर हमारी आत्मा ने उसकी गूंज को महसूस किया।
हमने देखा — भावना का संघर्ष शाश्वत नियम से।

उसने हमें संयम नहीं सिखाया,
पर उसका जोश हमारे रक्त में था।
एक शब्द उसकी आग को भड़काता, एक कर्म हमें हिला देता।
पर तुम्हारे जैसे शब्द, शांत और मजबूत,
हमारे दिल के लिए एक पवित्र गीत थे।

और गोएथे की गहरी बुद्धि ने हमें सिखाया
कि जीवन के तूफानों के बीच भी हम रुकें, सोचें, और आगे बढ़ें।
उसने हमें मनुष्य की प्रकृति को समझने को कहा।

लेकिन तुम, मेरे वर्ड्सवर्थ! तुम चले गए,
तुम्हारी आवाज़ ही दुनिया के थके हुए दिल को शांत कर सकती थी,
और हर चीज़ में हमारी आत्मा को शांति दे सकती थी।

📚 50 Difficult Words and Their Meanings

Word	Meaning in English	Meaning in Hindi
Poetic	Related to poetry	काव्यात्मक
Weimar	City in Germany	जर्मनी का एक नगर
Tomb	Grave	समाधि
Struggle	Fight or battle	संघर्ष
Cease	Stop	रुकना
Dumb	Silent	मौन
Passion	Strong emotion	भावनाएँ
Eternal	Forever	शाश्वत
Law	Rule or principle	नियम
Temperance	Self-control	संयम
Sage	Wise person	ज्ञानी
Deep	Profound	गहरा
Nature	Human character	प्रकृति
Powers	Abilities	शक्तियाँ
Serene	Calm	शांत
Soul	Inner being	आत्मा
Thunder	Loud sound	गर्जना
Blood	Emotion or feeling	भावना
Appal	Shock	भयभीत करना
Scan	Examine carefully	निरीक्षण करना
Man	Human being	मनुष्य
Voice	Sound or expression	आवाज़
Peace	Calmness	शांति
Heart	Emotion	हृदय
Teach	To give knowledge	सिखाना
Strong	Powerful	शक्तिशाली
Thought	Idea	विचार
Dark	Sad or unclear	अंधकारमय
Tempests	Storms	तूफान
Half	Not complete	आधा
Learn	To understand	सीखना
Bring	To provide	लाना
World	Earth, people	संसार
Wear	To endure	झेलना
Groan	Sad sound	कराह
Voice	Expression	स्वर
Still	Calm or quiet	शांत
Rest	Peace or relaxation	विश्राम
Death	End of life	मृत्यु
Fire	Energy	ऊर्जा
Mind	Brain or thought	मन
Keep	Continue	बनाए रखना
Soulful	Full of feeling	भावपूर्ण
Eternal Law	Unchanging truth	शाश्वत नियम
Nature’s powers	Human strengths	प्रकृति की शक्तियाँ
Weary	Tired	थका हुआ
Deed	Action	कार्य
Calm	Peaceful	शांत
Scan	Study closely	बारीकी से देखना
Rouse	Awaken	जगाना

📝 Summary of the Poem

Memorial Verses is a touching tribute written by Matthew Arnold in memory of William Wordsworth. The poem begins by mentioning the deaths of two great poets — Goethe from Germany and Lord Byron from England — before turning to Wordsworth’s death.
Arnold compares all three poets. He says Byron’s poetry was full of passion and energy, but it lacked peace. Goethe was a thinker who taught wisdom and patience. However, Wordsworth was different — he gave people peace of mind and moral strength through his poetry.
Arnold believes that Wordsworth’s poems could calm the troubled hearts of people and bring harmony to the soul. For Arnold, Wordsworth was not only a poet but also a spiritual teacher whose work connected humans with nature and divine peace.

💭 Theme of the Poem

The main theme of Memorial Verses is tribute, spirituality, and moral strength through poetry.
Arnold shows how Wordsworth’s poetry brings peace, while others bring passion or wisdom. The poem highlights the power of poetry to comfort human hearts and guide them towards truth and simplicity.

✍️ Poetic Devices Used

Device	Example	Explanation
Alliteration	Peace to our souls through everything	Repetition of the ‘s’ sound
Metaphor	World’s weary heart	The world is compared to a tired person
Imagery	Thunder’s roll	Creates a mental image of sound
Personification	Passion with Eternal Law	Passion and Law are given human qualities
Contrast	Byron vs. Wordsworth	Shows different kinds of poets
Tone	Calm and respectful	Expresses admiration and sorrow

🔍 Analysis of the Poem

In Memorial Verses, Arnold shows how great poets influence humanity in different ways. Byron’s poetry burns with emotion and excitement. Goethe’s mind shines with intelligence and wisdom. But Wordsworth is unique because he heals the human heart.
Arnold praises Wordsworth as a poet who taught the value of simplicity, purity, and closeness to nature. Through calm and pure thoughts, Wordsworth helped people find peace amid the noisy and troubled modern world.
The poem is written in a gentle and respectful tone, showing Arnold’s personal loss and admiration for the poet who inspired his own writing.

In short, Memorial Verses is not just a poem of mourning but a celebration of a poet who gave the world peace, moral power, and hope through the beauty of nature and truth.