Analysis of A Holocaust
Francis Thompson 1859 (City of Preston, Lancashire) – 1907 (London)
'No man ever attained supreme knowledge, unless his heart had been
torn up by the roots.'
When I presage the time shall come--yea, now
Perchance is come, when you shall fail from me,
Because the mighty spirit, to whom you vow
Faith of kin genius unrebukably,
Scourges my sloth, and from your side dismissed
Henceforth this sad and most, most lonely soul
Must, marching fatally through pain and mist,
The God-bid levy of its powers enrol;
When I presage that none shall hear the voice
From the great Mount that clangs my ordained advance,
That sullen envy bade the churlish choice
Yourself shall say, and turn your altered glance;
O God! Thou knowest if this heart of flesh
Quivers like broken entrails, when the wheel
Rolleth some dog in middle street, or fresh
Fruit when ye tear it bleeding from the peel;
If my soul cries the uncomprehended cry
When the red agony oozed on Olivet!
Yet not for this, a caitiff, falter I,
Beloved whom I must lose, nor thence regret
The doubly-vouched and twin allegiance owed
To you in Heaven, and Heaven in you, Lady.
How could you hope, loose dealer with my God,
That I should keep for you my fealty?
For still 'tis thus:-because I am so true,
My Fair, to Heaven, I am so true to you!
Scheme | XX ABACDCDCEFEFGCGCHDHXXBXBII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110010110011111 11101 1110011111 0111111111 01010101111 111101 1011011101 1111011101 1101001101 0111011101 1110111101 10111110101 1101010101 0111011101 111111111 111010101 111010111 1111110101 1111011 101100111 111101101 0111111101 0101010101 110100100110 1111110111 1111111100 1111011111 11110111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,202 |
Words | 226 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 26 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 479 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 111 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 1:07 min read
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"A Holocaust" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13879/a-holocaust>.
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