Analysis of Divine Compassion
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Long since, a dream of heaven I had,
And still the vision haunts me oft;
I see the saints in white robes clad,
The martyrs with their palms aloft;
But hearing still, in middle song,
The ceaseless dissonance of wrong;
And shrinking, with hid faces, from the strain
Of sad, beseeching eyes, full of remorse and pain.
The glad song falters to a wail,
The harping sinks to low lament;
Before the still unlifted veil
I see the crowned foreheads bent,
Making more sweet the heavenly air,
With breathings of unselfish prayer;
And a Voice saith: 'O Pity which is pain,
O Love that weeps, fill up my sufferings which remain!
'Shall souls redeemed by me refuse
To share my sorrow in their turn?
Or, sin-forgiven, my gift abuse
Of peace with selfish unconcern?
Has saintly ease no pitying care?
Has faith no work, and love no prayer?
While sin remains, and souls in darkness dwell,
Can heaven itself be heaven, and look unmoved on hell?'
Then through the Gates of Pain, I dream,
A wind of heaven blows coolly in;
Fainter the awful discords seem,
The smoke of torment grows more thin,
Tears quench the burning soil, and thence
Spring sweet, pale flowers of penitence
And through the dreary realm of man's despair,
Star-crowned an angel walks, and to! God's hope is there!
Is it a dream? Is heaven so high
That pity cannot breathe its air?
Its happy eyes forever dry,
Its holy lips without a prayer!
My God! my God! if thither led
By Thy free grace unmerited,
No crown nor palm be mine, but let me keep
A heart that still can feel, and eyes that still can weep.
Scheme | ABABCCDD EFEFGGDD HIXIGGJJ KLKLXHGG MGMGXANN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 110111011 01010111 11010111 01011101 11010101 01010011 0101110101 110101110101 01110101 01011101 010111 110111 101101001 11111 0011110111 1111111100101 11011101 11110011 110101101 1111001 110111001 11110111 1101010101 11001110010111 11011111 011101100 1001011 0111111 11010101 1111011 0101011101 111101011111 110111011 11010111 11010101 11010101 1111111 11111 1111111111 011111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,517 |
Words | 286 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 241 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 141 Views
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"Divine Compassion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22886/divine-compassion>.
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