Analysis of In Quest
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Have I not voyaged, friend beloved, with thee
On the great waters of the unsounded sea,
Momently listening with suspended oar
For the low rote of waves upon a shore
Changeless as heaven, where never fog-cloud drifts
Over its windless wood, nor mirage lifts
The steadfast hills; where never birds of doubt
Sing to mislead, and every dream dies out,
And the dark riddles which perplex us here
In the sharp solvent of its light are clear?
Thou knowest how vain our quest; how, soon or late,
The baffling tides and circles of debate
Swept back our bark unto its starting-place,
Where, looking forth upon the blank, gray space,
And round about us seeing, with sad eyes,
The same old difficult hills and cloud-cold skies,
We said: 'This outward search availeth not
To find Him. He is farther than we thought,
Or, haply, nearer. To this very spot
Whereon we wait, this commonplace of home,
As to the well of Jacob, He may come
And tell us all things.' As I listened there,
Through the expectant silences of prayer,
Somewhat I seemed to hear, which hath to me
Been hope, strength, comfort, and I give it thee.
'The riddle of the world is understood
Only by him who feels that God is good,
As only he can feel who makes his love
The ladder of his faith, and climbs above
On th' rounds of his best instincts; draws no line
Between mere human goodness and divine,
But, judging God by what in him is best,
With a child's trust leans on a Father's breast,
And hears unmoved the old creeds babble still
Of kingly power and dread caprice of will,
Chary of blessing, prodigal of curse,
The pitiless doomsman of the universe.
Can Hatred ask for love? Can Selfishness
Invite to self-denial? Is He less
Than man in kindly dealing? Can He break
His own great law of fatherhood, forsake
And curse His children? Not for earth and heaven
Can separate tables of the law be given.
No rule can bind which He himself denies;
The truths of time are not eternal lies.'
So heard I; and the chaos round me spread
To light and order grew; and, 'Lord,' I said,
'Our sins are our tormentors, worst of all
Felt in distrustful shame that dares not call
Upon Thee as our Father. We have set
A strange god up, but Thou remainest yet.
All that I feel of pity Thou hast known
Before I was; my best is all Thy own.
From Thy great heart of goodness mine but drew
Wishes and prayers; but Thou, O Lord, wilt do,
In Thy own time, by ways I cannot see,
All that I feel when I am nearest Thee!'
Scheme | AABBCCDDXXEEFFGGHXHXXIIAA JJKKLLMMNNOOXXPPQQGG RRSSTTUUVVAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010111 101101011 110010101 1011110101 1110110111 101111011 011110111 11010100111 0011010111 0011011111 11111011111 01001010101 11101101101 1101010111 0101110111 01110010111 11110111 1111110111 111011101 11111011 1101110111 0111111101 1001010011 1111111111 1111001111 010101101 1011111111 1101111111 0101110101 111111110111 0111010001 1101110111 1011110101 0101011101 11010010111 1011010011 010011010 1101111100 0111010111 1101010111 111111001 01110111010 11010101110 1111110101 0111110101 1110010111 1101010111 10111010111 1001011111 01111010111 01111111 1111110111 0111111111 1111110111 1001111111 0111111101 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,399 |
Words | 463 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 25, 20, 12 |
Lines Amount | 57 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 634 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 152 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:18 min read
- 114 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"In Quest" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22935/in-quest>.
Discuss this John Greenleaf Whittier poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In