Analysis of Hymn For The Opening Of Thomas Starr King’s House Of Worship, 1864
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Amidst these glorious works of Thine,
The solemn minarets of the pine,
And awful Shasta's icy shrine,--
Where swell Thy hymns from wave and gale,
And organ-thunders never fail,
Behind the cataract's silver veil,
Our puny walls to Thee we raise,
Our poor reed-music sounds Thy praise:
Forgive, O Lord, our childish ways!
For, kneeling on these altar-stairs,
We urge Thee not with selfish prayers,
Nor murmur at our daily cares.
Before Thee, in an evil day,
Our country's bleeding heart we lay,
And dare not ask Thy hand to stay;
But, through the war-cloud, pray to Thee
For union, but a union free,
With peace that comes of purity!
That Thou wilt bare Thy arm to, save
And, smiting through this Red Sea wave,
Make broad a pathway for the slave!
For us, confessing all our need,
We trust nor rite nor word nor deed,
Nor yet the broken staff of creed.
Assured alone that Thou art good
To each, as to the multitude,
Eternal Love and Fatherhood,--
Weak, sinful, blind, to Thee we kneel,
Stretch dumbly forth our hands, and feel
Our weakness is our strong appeal.
So, by these Western gates of Even
We wait to see with Thy forgiven
The opening Golden Gate of Heaven!
Suffice it now. In time to be
Shall holier altars rise to Thee,--
Thy Church our broad humanity
White flowers of love its walls shall climb,
Soft bells of peace shall ring its chime,
Its days shall all be holy time.
A sweeter song shall then be heard,--
The music of the world's accord
Confessing Christ, the Inward Word!
That song shall swell from shore to shore,
One hope, one faith, one love, restore
The seamless robe that Jesus wore.
Scheme | AAA BBB CCC DDD EEE FFF GGG HHH IXI JJJ XKK FFF LLL MXM NNN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 011100111 01001101 01010101 11111101 01010101 0101101 101011111 101110111 011110101 11011101 11111101 110110101 01101101 101010111 01111111 11011111 11010101 11111100 11111111 0111111 1101101 110101101 11111111 11010111 01011111 1111010 0101010 11011111 11110101 1010110101 111101110 111111010 0100101110 01110111 110010111 111010100 110111111 11111111 11111101 01011111 01010101 01010101 11111111 11111101 01011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,563 |
Words | 295 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 83 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:29 min read
- 93 Views
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"Hymn For The Opening Of Thomas Starr King’s House Of Worship, 1864" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22922/hymn-for-the-opening-of-thomas-starr-king%E2%80%99s-house-of-worship%2C-1864>.
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