Poetry · Chapter
How Shall He Sing Who Hath No Song explained
The poem explores the paradox of creative and spiritual expression when one feels empty or barren.
What happens
The poem explores the paradox of creative and spiritual expression when one feels empty or barren. It counsels patience, righteous action, and steadfast waiting for divine fulfillment, promising that when God's glory fills the earth, even the songless will sing and the mirthless will laugh.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where the speaker tu…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Redemption and Grace
The poem promises that through patient endurance and righteous living, God's glory will transform barrenness into joyful song.
- Suffering and Purification
The speaker must endure scorn, satire, and falsehood, waiting in a 'land of stony dearth' until divine fulfillment comes.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“How shall he sing who hath no song? He laugh who hath no mirth?”
How can someone express joy when they feel empty inside?
Opens the poem with the central question of creative and emotional barrenness.
“Must say and do and be the truth, And fearless wait for what ensueth, Wait, wait, with patience sweet and strong, Until God’s glory fill the earth; Then shall he sing who had no song, He laugh who had no mirth!”
One must live truthfully and wait patiently for divine fulfillment, after which even the empty will find joy.
Describes the path from barrenness to joyful expression through righteous living and patience.
