Analysis of The Two Angels
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
God called the nearest angels who dwell with Him above:
The tenderest one was Pity, the dearest one was Love.
'Arise,' He said, 'my angels! a wail of woe and sin
Steals through the gates of heaven, and saddens all within.
'My harps take up the mournful strain that from a lost world swells,
The smoke of torment clouds the light and blights the asphodels.
'Fly downward to that under world, and on its souls of pain,
Let Love drop smiles like sunshine, and Pity tears like rain!'
Two faces bowed before the Throne, veiled in their golden hair;
Four white wings lessened swiftly down the dark abyss of air.
The way was strange, the flight was long; at last the angels came
Where swung the lost and nether world, red-wrapped in rayless flame.
There Pity, shuddering, wept; but Love, with faith too strong for fear,
Took heart from God's almightiness and smiled a smile of cheer.
And lo! that tear of Pity quenched the flame whereon it fell,
And, with the sunshine of that smile, hope entered into hell!
Two unveiled faces full of joy looked upward to the Throne,
Four white wings folded at the feet of Him who sat thereon!
And deeper than the sound of seas, more soft than falling flake,
Amidst the hush of wing and song the Voice Eternal spake:
'Welcome, my angels! ye have brought a holier joy to heaven;
Henceforth its sweetest song shall be the song of sin forgiven!'
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH XX II JJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Couplet |
Metre | 1101010111101 011110010111 0111110011101 1101110010101 11110101110111 01111010101 11011101011111 111111010111 11010101101101 11110101010111 01110111110101 1101010111011 110100111111111 11111010111 0111110101111 0101111110011 10110111110101 11110101111101 01010111111101 01011101010101 1011011101001110 111101110111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,356 |
Words | 253 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 49 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 33 Views
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