Analysis of Faith
George Santayana 1863 (Madrid) – 1952 (Rome)
O WORLD, thou choosest not the better part!
It is not wisdom to be only wise,
And on the inward vision close the eyes,
But it is wisdom to believe the heart.
Columbus found a world, and had no chart,
Save one that faith deciphered in the skies;
To trust the soul'd invincible surmise
Was all his science and his only art.
Our knowledge is a torch of smoky pine
That lights the pathway but one step ahead
Across a void of mystery and dread.
Bid, then, the tender light of faith to shine
By which alone the mortal heart is lead
Unto the thinking of the thoughts divine.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDDCDC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111110101 1111011101 0101010101 1111010101 0101010111 1111010001 1101010001 1111001101 10101011101 110111101 0101110001 1101011111 1101010111 1001010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 575 |
Words | 111 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 445 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 109 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 162 Views
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"Faith" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15790/faith>.
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