Analysis of How Long?
Katharine Lee Bates 1859 (Falmouth) – 1929 (Wellesley)
How long, O Prince of Peace, how long? We sicken of the shame
Of this wild war that wraps the world, a roaring dragon-flame
Fed on earth's glorious youth, high hearts all passionate to cope
—O Chivalry of Hope!—
With the cloudy host of the infidel and the Holy Earth reclaim.
For each dear land is Holy Land to her own fervent sons
Who fling in loyal sacrifice their lives before the guns,
But when they meet their foes above the battlesmoke, they laugh,
And all together quaff
The cup of welcome Honor pouts for her slain champions.
Oh, if a thousandth part of all this treasure, purpose, skill,
Were poured into the crucible transforming wrong and ill,
By the white magic of a wise and generous brotherhood,
To righteousness and good,
The world would be divine again, with eery war-cry still.
Poor world so worn with wickedness, bedimmed with rage and fear,
Sad world that sprang forth singing from God's hand, a golden sphere,
O yet may Love's creative breath renew thee, fashioned twice
A shining Paradise,
Unsullied in the astral choir, with Joy for charioteer.
How long shall bomb and bullet think for human brains? How long
Shall folk of the burned villages in starving, staggering throng
Flee from the armies that, in turn, are mangled, maddened, slain,
Till earth is all one stain
Of horror, and the soaring larks are slaughtered in their song?
Oh, may this war, this blasphemy that blots the globe with blood,
Slay war forever, cleanse the earth in its own mighty flood
Of tears, tears unassuageable, that will not cease to fall
Till Time has covered all
Our guilty century with sleep, and the new eras bud!
How long? The angels of the stars entreat the clouded Throne
In anguish for their brother Earth, who stands, like Cain, alone,
And hides the mark upon his brow, the while their harps implore
The Silence to restore
Peace to this wayward Son of God, whose music is a moan.
Come swiftly, Peace! Oh, swiftly come, with healing in thy feet;
Bring back to tortured battlefields the waving of the wheat;
Bring back to broken hearths, whereby the wistful ghosts will walk,
Blithe hum of household talk,
Till childhood dare to sport again and maiden hood be sweet,
Though thou must come by crimson road, with grief and mercy come,
Not with the insolence of strength, the boast of fife and drum;
Come with adventure in thine eyes for the splendid tasks that wait,
To weld these desolate
Crushed lands into the fellowship of thy millennium.
O Peace, to rear thy temple that no strife may overawe!
O Purity, to fashion thee a palace without flaw! Galilee,
To build the state on thee,
And shape the deeds of nations by thy yet untested law!
Scheme | AABBACCDDCEEFFEGGHHGIIJJIKKLLKMMNNMOOPPOQQRSQTUUV |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111110101 11111101010101 111100111110011 110011 1010110100010101 11111101101101 1101010110101 111111010111 010101 01110101101100 11010111110101 01010100010101 10110101010010 110001 0111010111111 1111110011101 11111101110101 11110101011101 01010 0100010101111 11110101110111 111011000101001 1101010111011 111111 11000101110011 11111100110111 11010101011101 1111111111 111101 101010011001101 1101010110101 01011101111101 01010111011101 010101 11110111110101 11011101110011 1111010010101 11110101010111 11111 1111101010111 11111101110101 11010011011101 110100111010111 111100 1101010110100 111111011111 1100110101001110 110111 01011101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,609 |
Words | 472 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 49 |
Lines Amount | 49 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 2,094 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 469 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:22 min read
- 110 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"How Long?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24864/how-long%3F>.
Discuss this Katharine Lee Bates poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In