Analysis of Doubting
Henry Kendall 1839 (Australia) – 1882 (Sydney)
A Brother wandered forth with me,
Beside a barren beach:
He harped on things beyond the sea,
And out of reach.
He hinted once of unknown skies,
And then I would not hark,
But turned away from steadfast eyes,
Into the dark.
And said — “an ancient faith is dead
And wonder fills my mind:
I marvel how the blind have led
So long the blind.
“Behold this truth we only know
That night is on the land!
And we a weary way must go
To find God’s hand.”
I wept — “Our fathers told us, Lord,
That Thou wert kind and just,
But lo! our wailings fly abroad
For broken trust.
“How many evil ones are here
Who mocking go about,
Because we are too faint with fear
To wrestle Doubt!
“Thy riddles are beyond the ken
Of creatures of the sod:
Remember that we are but men,
And Thou art God!
“O, doting world, methinks your stay
Is weaker than a reed!
Our Father turns His face away;
‘Tis dark indeed.”
The evening woods lay huddled there,
All wrapped in silence strange:
A sudden wind — and lo! the air
Was filled with change.
“Your words are wild,” my brother said,
“For God’s voice fills the breeze;
Go — hide yourself, as Adam did,
Amongst the trees.
“I pluck the shoes from off my feet,
But dare to look around;
Behold,” he said, “my Lord I greet,
On holy ground!”
And God spake through the wind to me —
“Shake off that gloom of Fear,
You fainting soul who could not see
That I was near.
“Why vex me crying day and night? —
You call on me to hark!
But when I bless your world with light,
Who makes it dark?
“Is there a ravelled riddle left
That you would have undone?
What other doubts are there to sift?”
I answered — “None.”
“My son, look up, if you would see
The Promise on your way,
And turn a trustful face to me.”
I whispered — “Yea.”
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEF GHGH XIXI XJKJ LMLM NONO PQPQ ERXR STST AKAK UDUD XVXV ANAN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (30%) Etheree (23%) |
Metre | 01010111 010101 11110101 0111 11011011 011111 1101111 0101 01110111 010111 11010111 1101 01111101 111101 01010111 1111 111010111 111101 11101101 1101 11010111 110101 01111111 1101 11010101 110101 01011111 0111 1101111 110101 101011101 1101 01011101 110101 01010101 1111 11111101 111101 11011101 0101 11011111 111101 01111111 1101 01110111 111111 11011111 1111 11110101 111111 11111111 1111 1101101 111101 11011111 1101 11111111 010111 0101111 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,744 |
Words | 351 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 92 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:45 min read
- 44 Views
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"Doubting" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17475/doubting>.
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