Analysis of Out Of Nazareth
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
'He shall sleep unscathed of thieves
Who loves Allah and believes.'
Thus heard one who shared the tent,
In the far-off Orient,
Of the Bedouin ben Ahrzz--
Nobler never loved the stars
Through the palm-leaves nigh the dim
Dawn his courser neighed to him!
He said: 'Let the sands be swarmed
With such thieves as I, and thou
Shalt at morning rise unharmed,
Light as eyelash to the brow
Of thy camel amber-eyed,
Ever munching either side,
Striding still, with nestled knees,
Through the midnight's oases.'
'Who can rob thee an thou hast
More than this that thou hast cast
At my feet-- this dust of gold?
Simply this and that, all told!
Hast thou not a treasure of
Such a thing as men call love?'
'Can the dusky band I lead
Rob thee of thy daily need
Of a whiter soul, or steal
What thy lordly prayers reveal?
Who could be enriched of thee
By such hoard of poverty
As thy niggard hand pretends
To dole me-- thy worst of friends?
Therefore shouldst thou pause to bless
One indeed who blesses thee:
Robbing thee, I dispossess
But myself--. Pray thou for me!'
He shall sleep unscathed of thieves
Who loves Allah and believes.
Scheme | AAbbaxcc xdxdeeff gghhii xxjjkkllmkmk AA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110111 1110001 1111101 001110 1010011 1010101 1011101 1110111 1110111 1111101 1110101 111101 1110101 1010101 1011101 101010 1111111 1111111 1111111 1010111 1110101 1011111 101111 1111101 1010111 111101 1110111 1111100 1110101 1111111 111111 1011101 101101 111111 1110111 1110001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,089 |
Words | 210 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 6, 12, 2 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 174 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 85 Views
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