Analysis of Bible Defense Of Slavery
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911
Take sackcloth of the darkest dye,
And shroud the pulpits round!
Servants of Him that cannot lie,
Sit mourning on the ground.
Let holy horror blanch each cheek,
Pale every brow with fears;
And rocks and stones, if ye could speak,
Ye well might melt to tears!
Let sorrow breathe in every tone,
In every strain ye raise;
Insult not God's majestic throne
With th' mockery of praise.
A 'reverend' man, whose light should be
The guide of age and youth,
Brings to the shrine of Slavery
The sacrifice of truth!
For the direst wrong by man imposed,
Since Sodom's fearful cry,
The word of life has been unclos'd,
To give your God the lie.
Oh! When ye pray for heathen lands,
And plead for their dark shores,
Remember Slavery's cruel hands
Make heathens at your doors!
Scheme | ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG XABA HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 1110101 010101 10111101 110101 11010111 1100111 01011111 111111 110101001 0100111 01110101 11110011 010011111 011101 11011100 01011 101011101 11101 0111111 111101 11111101 011111 0101101 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 784 |
Words | 139 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 99 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 15, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 100 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Bible Defense Of Slavery" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13702/bible-defense-of-slavery>.
Discuss this Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 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