Analysis of Conference Between Christ, The Saints, And The Soul

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



I am pale with sick desire,
For my heart is far away
From this world's fitful fire
And this world's waning day;
In a dream it overleaps
A world of tedious ills
To where the sunshine sleeps
On th' everlasting hills.
Say the Saints—There Angels ease us
Glorified and white.
They say—We rest in Jesus,
Where is not day nor night.

My Soul saith—I have sought
For a home that is not gained,
I have spent yet nothing bought,
Have laboured but not attained;
My pride strove to rise and grow,
And hath but dwindled down;
My love sought love, and lo!
Hath not attained its crown.
Say the Saints—Fresh Souls increase us,
None languish nor recede.
They say—We love our Jesus,
And He loves us indeed.

I cannot rise above,
I cannot rest beneath,
I cannot find out Love,
Nor escape from Death;
Dear hopes and joys gone by
Still mock me with a name;
My best beloved die
And I cannot die with them.
Say the Saints—No deaths decrease us,
Where our rest is glorious.
They say—We live in Jesus,
Who once died for us.

Oh, my Soul, she beats her wings
And pants to fly away
Up to immortal Things
In the Heavenly day:
Yet she flags and almost faints;
Can such be meant for me?
Come and see—say the Saints.
Saith Jesus—Come and see.
Say the Saints—His Pleasures please us
Before God and the Lamb.
Come and taste My Sweets—saith Jesus—
Be with Me where I am.


Scheme ABABCCCCCDCD XEXEFGFGCHCH IXIXJXJXCCCC CBCBCXCCCKCK
Poetic Form
Metre 11111010 1111101 1111010 011101 00111 0111001 11011 1110101 10111011 1001 1111010 111111 111111 1011111 1111101 111101 1111101 011101 111101 110111 10111011 110101 11111010 011101 110101 110101 110111 10111 110111 111101 11011 0110111 10111011 11011100 1111010 11111 1111101 011101 110101 001001 111011 111111 101101 110101 10111011 011001 10111110 111111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,323
Words 253
Sentences 16
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 12, 12
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 258
Words per stanza (avg) 63
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:16 min read
132

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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