Analysis of The Healer
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
TO A YOUNG PHYSICIAN, WITH DORE'S PICTURE OF CHRIST
HEALING THE SICK.
So stood of old the holy Christ
Amidst the suffering throng;
With whom His lightest touch sufficed
To make the weakest strong.
That healing gift He lends to them
Who use it in His name;
The power that filled His garment's hem
Is evermore the same.
For lo! in human hearts unseen
The Healer dwelleth still,
And they who make His temples clean
The best subserve His will.
The holiest task by Heaven decreed,
An errand all divine,
The burden of our common need
To render less is thine.
The paths of pain are thine. Go forth
With patience, trust, and hope;
The sufferings of a sin-sick earth
Shall give thee ample scope.
Beside the unveiled mysteries
Of life and death go stand,
With guarded lips and reverent eyes
And pure of heart and hand.
So shalt thou be with power endued
From Him who went about
The Syrian hillsides doing good,
And casting demons out.
That Good Physician liveth yet
Thy friend and guide to be;
The Healer by Gennesaret
Shall walk the rounds with thee.
Scheme | AX ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH XIXI XJXJ XKXK XLAL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101010111011 1001 11110101 0101001 11110101 110101 11011111 111011 01011111 11001 11010101 01011 01111101 01111 0100111001 110101 010110101 110111 01111111 110101 010010111 111101 01001100 110111 110101001 011101 111111001 111101 01001101 010101 1101011 110111 01011 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,016 |
Words | 191 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 92 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 16, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 104 Views
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