Analysis of Gone
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Another hand is beckoning us,
Another call is given;
And glows once more with Angel-steps
The path which reaches Heaven.
Our young and gentle friend, whose smile
Made brighter summer hours,
Amid the frosts of autumn time
Has left us with the flowers.
No paling of the cheek of bloom
Forewarned us of decay;
No shadow from the Silent Land
Fell round our sister's way.
The light of her young life went down,
As sinks behind the hill
The glory of a setting star,
Clear, suddenly, and still.
As pure and sweet, her fair brow seemed
Eternal as the sky;
And like the brook's low song, her voice,--
A sound which could not die.
And half we deemed she needed not
The changing of her sphere,
To give to Heaven a Shining One,
Who walked an Angel here.
The blessing of her quiet life
Fell on us like the dew;
And good thoughts where her footsteps pressed
Like fairy blossoms grew.
Sweet promptings unto kindest deeds
Were in her very look;
We read her face, as one who reads
A true and holy book,
The measure of a blessed hymn,
To which our hearts could move;
The breathing of an inward psalm,
A canticle of love.
We miss her in the place of prayer,
And by the hearth-fire's light;
We pause beside her door to hear
Once more her sweet 'Good-night!'
There seems a shadow on the day,
Her smile no longer cheers;
A dimness on the stars of night,
Like eyes that look through tears.
Alone unto our Father's will
One thought hath reconciled;
That He whose love exceedeth ours
Hath taken home His child.
Fold her, O Father! in Thine arms,
And let her henceforth be
A messenger of love between
Our human hearts and Thee.
Still let her mild rebuking stand
Between us and the wrong,
And her dear memory serve to make
Our faith in Goodness strong.
And grant that she who, trembling, here
Distrusted all her powers,
May welcome to her holier home
The well-beloved of ours.
Scheme | XAXA XBXB XCDC XEXE XFXF XXAG XHXH IJIJ XXXX XKGK CXKX ELBL XMXM DNXN GBXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (80%) Etheree (32%) |
Metre | 010111001 0101110 01111101 0111010 101010111 1101010 01011101 1111010 1110111 011101 1110101 1110101 01101111 110101 01010101 110001 11010111 010101 01011101 011111 01111101 010101 111100101 111101 01010101 111101 0111011 110101 1110101 000101 11011111 010101 0101011 1110111 01011101 0111 11000111 0101101 11010111 110111 1101101 011101 0110111 111111 011010101 11110 1111110 110111 10110011 010111 01001101 1010101 11010101 011001 001100111 1010101 011111001 0101010 110101001 0101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,798 |
Words | 346 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 10, 2023
- 1:44 min read
- 90 Views
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"Gone" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22909/gone>.
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