Analysis of The Word

John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)



Voice of the Holy Spirit, making known
Man to himself, a witness swift and sure,
Warning, approving, true and wise and pure,
Counsel and guidance that misleadeth none!
By thee the mystery of life is read;
The picture-writing of the world's gray seers,
The myths and parables of the primal years,
Whose letter kills, by thee interpreted
Take healthful meanings fitted to our needs,
And in the soul's vernacular express
The common law of simple righteousness.
Hatred of cant and doubt of human creeds
May well be felt: the unpardonable sin
Is to deny the Word of God within!


Scheme ABBCDEFGHIJHKK
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010101 1101010101 1001010101 10010111 1101001111 0101010111 01010010101 1101110100 11010101101 0001010001 0101110100 1011011101 1111011 1101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 567
Words 101
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 456
Words per stanza (avg) 99
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
114

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. more…

All John Greenleaf Whittier poems | John Greenleaf Whittier Books

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    Repeated use of words for effect and emphasis is called ________.
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