In My Craft or Sullen Art
In My Craft or Sullen Art - meaning Summary
Poetry for Private Consolation
The poem presents the poet’s vocation as a solitary, nocturnal labor undertaken not for fame, payment, or praise but to comfort ordinary lovers who hold private griefs. Writing by moonlight, the speaker rejects ambition and public acclaim, imagining his craft as a small, luminous service to the ‘‘most secret heart.’' The tone is humble and intimate, emphasizing poetry’s quiet moral purpose over spectacle or immortalization.
Read Complete AnalysesIn my craft or sullen art Exercised in the still night When only the moon rages And the lovers lie abed With all their griefs in their arms I labour by singing light Not for ambition or bread Or the strut and trade of charms On the ivory stages But for the common wages Of their most secret heart. Not for the proud man apart From the raging moon I write On these spindrift pages Nor for the towering dead With their nightingales and psalms But for the lovers, their arms Round the griefs of the ages, Who pay no praise or wages Nor heed my craft or art.
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