Analysis of The Gift of God
Blessed with a joy that only she
Of all alive shall ever know,
She wears a proud humility
For what it was that willed it so -
That her degree should be so great
Among the favoured of the Lord
That she may scarcely bear the weight
Of her bewildering reward.
As one apart, immune, alone,
Or featured for the shining ones,
And like to none that she has known
Of other women's other sons -
The firm fruition of her need,
He shines anointed; and he blurs
Her vision, till it seems indeed
A sacrilege to call him hers.
She fears a little for so much
Of what is best, and hardly dares
To think of him as one to touch
With aches, indignities, and cares;
She sees him rather at the goal,
Still shining; and her dream foretells
The proper shining of a soul
Where nothing ordinary dwells.
Perchance a canvass of the town
Would find him far from flags and shouts,
And leave him only the renown
Of many smiles and many doubts;
Perchance the crude and common tongue
Would havoc strangely with his worth;
But she, with innocence unwrung,
Would read his name around the earth.
And others, knowing how this youth
Would shine, if love could make him great,
When caught and tortured for the truth
Would only writhe and hesitate;
While she, arranging for his days
What centuries could not fulfil,
Transmutes him with her faith and praise,
And has him shining where she will.
She crowns him with her gratefulness,
And says again that life is good;
And should the gift of God be less
In him than in her motherhood,
His fame, though vague, will not be small
As upward through her dream he fares,
Half clouded with a crimson fall
Of roses thrown on marble stairs.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKFKX LMLMNONO PCPCQKQX FRXRSJSJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101 11011101 11010100 11111111 10011111 0101101 11110101 10010001 11010101 11010101 01111111 11010101 01010101 11010011 01011101 01001110 11010111 11110101 11111111 11010001 11110101 1100011 01010101 1101001 01010101 11111101 01110001 11010101 01010101 11010111 1111001 11110101 01010111 11111111 11010101 1101010 11010111 1100111 1110101 01110111 111101 01011111 01011111 0110010 11111111 11010111 11010101 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,600 |
Words | 307 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 216 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:32 min read
- 136 Views
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"The Gift of God" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10048/the-gift-of-god>.
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