Analysis of To William Lloyd Garrison
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
CHAMPION of those who groan beneath
Oppression's iron hand:
In view of penury, hate, and death,
I see thee fearless stand.
Still bearing up thy lofty brow,
In the steadfast strength of truth,
In manhood sealing well the vow
And promise of thy youth.
Go on, for thou hast chosen well;
On in the strength of God!
Long as one human heart shall swell
Beneath the tyrant's rod.
Speak in a slumbering nation's ear,
As thou hast ever spoken,
Until the dead in sin shall hear,
The fetter's link be broken!
I love thee with a brother's love,
I feel my pulses thrill,
To mark thy Spirit soar above
The cloud of human ill.
My heart hath leaped to answer thine,
And echo back thy words,
As leaps the warrior's at the shine
And flash of kindred swords!
They tell me thou art rash and vain,
A searcher after fame;
That thou art striving but to gain
A long-enduring name;
That thou hast nerved the Afric's hand
And steeled the Afric's heart,
To shake aloft his vengeful brand,
And rend his chain apart.
Have I not known thee well, and read
Thy mighty purpose long?
And watched the trials which have made
Thy human spirit strong?
And shall the slanderer's demon breath
Avail with one like me,
To dim the sunshine of my faith
And earnest trust in thee?
Go on, the dagger's point may glare
Amid thy pathway's gloom;
The fate which sternly threatens there
Is glorious martyrdom!
Then onward with a martyr's zeal;
And wait thy sure reward
When man to man no more shall kneel,
And God alone be Lord!
Scheme | ABCBDEDEFGFGHIHIJKJKLMLNOPOPBQBQRSTSCUVUWXWYZ1 Z1 |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 100111101 1101 011100101 111101 11011101 001111 0110101 010111 11111101 100111 11110111 01011 100100101 1111010 01010111 011110 11110101 111101 11110101 011101 11111101 010111 1101101 011101 11111101 010101 11110111 010101 1111011 01011 11011101 011101 11111101 110101 01010111 110101 0101101 011111 1101111 010101 1101111 01111 01110101 1100100 1101011 011101 11111111 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,439 |
Words | 275 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 48 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,154 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 273 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 197 Views
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"To William Lloyd Garrison" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23269/to-william-lloyd-garrison>.
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