Analysis of To The Memory Of Thomas Shipley
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
GONE to thy Heavenly Father's rest!
The flowers of Eden round thee blowing,
And on thine ear the murmurs blest
Of Siloa's waters softly flowing!
Beneath that Tree of Life which gives
To all the earth its healing leaves
In the white robe of angels clad,
And wandering by that sacred river,
Whose streams of holiness make glad
The city of our God forever!
Gentlest of spirits! not for thee
Our tears are shed, our sighs are given;
Why mourn to know thou art a free
Partaker of the joys of heaven?
Finished thy work, and kept thy faith
In Christian firmness unto death;
And beautiful as sky and earth,
When autumn's sun is downward going,
The blessed memory of thy worth
Around thy place of slumber glowing!
But woe for us! who linger still
With feebler strength and hearts less lowly,
And minds less steadfast to the will
Of Him whose every work is holy.
For not like thine, is crucified
The spirit of our human pride:
And at the bondman's tale of woe,
And for the outcast and forsaken,
Not warm like thine, but cold and slow,
Our weaker sympathies awaken.
Darkly upon our struggling way
The storm of human hate is sweeping;
Hunted and branded, and a prey,
Our watch amidst the darkness keeping,
Oh, for that hidden strength which can
Nerve unto death the inner man!
Oh, for thy spirit, tried and true,
And constant in the hour of trial,
Prepared to suffer, or to do,
In meekness and in self-denial.
Oh, for that spirit, meek and mild,
Derided, spurned, yet uncomplaining;
By man deserted and reviled,
Yet faithful to its trust remaining.
Still prompt and resolute to save
From scourge and chain the hunted slave;
Unwavering in the Truth's defence,
Even where the fires of Hate were burning,
The unquailing eye of innocence
Alone upon the oppressor turning!
O loved of thousands! to thy grave,
Sorrowing of heart, thy brethren bore thee.
The poor man and the rescued slave
Wept as the broken earth closed o'er thee;
And grateful tears, like summer rain,
Quickened its dying grass again!
And there, as to some pilgrim-shrine,
Shall come the outcast and the lowly,
Of gentle deeds and words of thine
Recalling memories sweet and holy!
Oh, for the death the righteous die!
An end, like autumn's day declining,
On human hearts, as on the sky,
With holier, tenderer beauty shining;
As to the parting soul were given
The radiance of an opening heaven!
As if that pure and blessed light,
From off the Eternal altar flowing,
Were bathing, in its upward flight,
The spirit to its worship going!
Scheme | ABABCDEFEFGHGHIJKBKBLGLGMMNHNHOBOBPPQRQRSBSBTTUBVBTGTGWXYGYGZBZBHH1 B1 B |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (29%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 111100101 0101101110 01110101 11101010 01111111 11011101 00111101 0100111010 11110011 0101101010 100110111 10111101110 11111101 1101110 10110111 01010101 01001101 110111010 01100111 011111010 11111101 11101110 0111101 1111001110 1111110 010110101 0101111 01010010 11111101 1010100010 1001101001 011101110 10010001 1010101010 11110111 11010101 11110101 0100010110 01110111 01001010 11110101 010111 11010001 110111010 1101011 11010101 010000101 10101011010 0111100 0101001010 11110111 11111011 01100101 1101011101 01011101 10110101 01111101 11010010 11010111 0101001010 11010101 111101010 11011101 110011010 110101010 01001110010 1111011 1100101010 01001101 010111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,422 |
Words | 443 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 70 |
Lines Amount | 70 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,958 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 441 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:15 min read
- 58 Views
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"To The Memory Of Thomas Shipley" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23265/to-the-memory-of-thomas-shipley>.
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