Analysis of The Crucifixion
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Sunlight upon Judha's hills!
And on the waves of Galilee;
On Jordan's stream, and on the rills
That feed the dead and sleeping sea!
Most freshly from the green wood springs
The light breeze on its scented wings;
And gayly quiver in the sun
The cedar tops of Lebanon!
A few more hours,--a change hath come!
The sky is dark without a cloud!
The shouts of wrath and joy are dumb,
And proud knees unto earth are bowed.
A change is on the hill of Death,
The helmed watchers pant for breath,
And turn with wild and maniac eyes
From the dark scene of sacrifice!
That Sacrifice!--the death of Him,--
The Christ of God, the holy One!
Well may the conscious Heaven grow dim,
And blacken the beholding, Sun.
The wonted light hath fled away,
Night settles on the middle day,
And earthquake from his caverned bed
Is waking with a thrill of dread!
The dead are waking underneath!
Their prison door is rent away!
And, ghastly with the seal of death,
They wander in the eye of day!
The temple of the Cherubim,
The House of God is cold and dim;
A curse is on its trembling walls,
Its mighty veil asunder falls!
Well may the cavern-depths of Earth
Be shaken, and her mountains nod;
Well may the sheeted dead come forth
To see the suffering son of God!
Well may the temple-shrine grow dim,
And shadows veil the Cherubim,
When He, the chosen one of Heaven,
A sacrifice for guilt is given!
And shall the sinful heart, alone,
Behold unmoved the fearful hour,
When Nature trembled on her throne,
And Death resigned his iron power?
Oh, shall the heart--whose sinfulness
Gave keenness to His sore distress,
And added to His tears of blood--
Refuse its trembling gratitude!
Scheme | ABABCCDD EFEFGGXX HDHDIIJJ XIGIEHKK XLXLHEDD MNMNAXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111 0101110 11010101 11010101 11010111 01111101 0110001 01011100 011100111 01110101 01110111 01110111 01110111 0110111 01110101 1011110 1100111 01110101 110101011 01000101 0111101 11010101 011111 11010111 0111001 11011101 01010111 11000111 010101 01111101 011111001 11010101 11010111 11000101 1101111 110100111 11010111 01101 110101110 01011110 01010101 010101010 11010101 010111010 110111 1111101 01011111 01110010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,608 |
Words | 304 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 214 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 07, 2023
- 1:31 min read
- 150 Views
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"The Crucifixion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23077/the-crucifixion>.
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