Analysis of The Refiner's Gold
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911
He stood before my heart's closed door,
And asked to enter in;
But I had barred the passage o'er
By unbelief and sin.
He came with nail-prints in his hands,
To set my spirit free;
With wounded feet he trod a path
To come and sup with me.
He found me poor and brought me gold,
The fire of love had tried,
And garments whitened by his blood,
My wretchedness to hide.
The glare of life had dimmed my eyes,
Its glamour was too bright.
He came with ointment in his hands
To heal my darkened sight.
He knew my heart was tempest-tossed,
By care and pain oppressed;
He whispered to my burdened heart,
Come unto me and rest.
He found me weary, faint and worn,
On barren mountains cold;
With love's constraint he drew me on,
To shelter in his fold.
Oh! foolish heart, how slow wert thou
To welcome thy dear guest,
To change thy weariness and care
For comfort, peace and rest.
Close to his side, oh! may I stay,
Just to behold his face,
Till I shall wear within my soul
The image of his grace.
The grace that changes hearts of stone
To tenderness and love,
And bids us run with willing feet
Unto his courts above.
Scheme | XAXA BCXC DEXE XFBF XGXG XDXD XGXG XHXH XIXI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11011111 011100 111101010 1101 11111011 111101 11011101 110111 11110111 0101111 0101111 1111 01111111 110111 11110011 111101 11111101 110101 11011101 110101 11110101 110101 11011111 110011 11011111 110111 11110001 110101 11111111 110111 11110111 010111 01110111 110001 01111101 101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,110 |
Words | 214 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 55 Views
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"The Refiner's Gold" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13763/the-refiner%27s-gold>.
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