Question

Alone the glory and the spoil I always laughing bore away; The triumphs, without pain or toil, Without the hell, the heav’n of joy. What tone does the imagery in these lines create?

Answer 1

Without pain or suffering there cannot be a gain or joy. The presence of one allows for the other. The tone here is duality, and consequence. One begets the other. To truly know heaven, one has to know hell.

Answer 2

The tone in these lines can be read one of two ways; more context would be necessary to conclusively determine one or the other.

On one hand, it can be perceived as arrogant. Triumphs are usually assumed to involve some sort of pain or toil; the fact that the speaker boasts of winning easily feels like an excessive boast.

However, at the same time, it could be seen as melancholy or even regretful. The speaker is recalling an earlier moment where everything came easy to him; if the present moment is not as favorable for him, those lines could be seen as longing for better times.