Analysis of Sonnet

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)



My heart be brave, and do not falter so,
Nor utter more that deep, despairing wail.
Thy way is very dark and drear I know,
But do not let thy strength and courage fail;
For certain as the raven-winged night
Is followed by the bright and blushing morn,
Thy coming morrow will be clear and bright;
’Tis darkest when the night is furthest worn.
Look up, and out, beyond, surrounding clouds,
And do not in thine own gross darkness grope,
Rise up, and casting off thy hind’ring shrouds,
Cling thou to this, and ever inspiring hope:
Tho’ thick the battle and tho’ fierce the fight,
There is a power making for the right.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEFCC
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011101 1101110101 1111010111 1111110101 110101011 1101010101 1101011101 1101011101 1101010101 0110111101 110101111 11110100101 1101001101 1101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 630
Words 115
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 477
Words per stanza (avg) 113
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

34 sec read
469

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

All James Weldon Johnson poems | James Weldon Johnson Books

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