Analysis of The Holy Land. From Lamartine

John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)



I have not felt, o'er seas of sand,
The rocking of the desert bark;
Nor laved at Hebron's fount my hand,
By Hebron's palm-trees cool and dark;
Nor pitched my tent at even-fall,
On dust where Job of old has lain,
Nor dreamed beneath its canvas wall,
The dream of Jacob o'er again.

One vast world-page remains unread;
How shine the stars in Chaldea's sky,
How sounds the reverent pilgrim's tread,
How beats the heart with God so nigh
How round gray arch and column lone
The spirit of the old time broods,
And sighs in all the winds that moan
Along the sandy solitudes!

In thy tall cedars, Lebanon,
I have not heard the nations' cries,
Nor seen thy eagles stooping down
Where buried Tyre in ruin lies.
The Christian's prayer I have not said
In Tadmor's temples of decay,
Nor startled, with my dreary tread,
The waste where Memnon's empire lay.

Nor have I, from thy hallowed tide,
O Jordan! heard the low lament,
Like that sad wail along thy side
Which Israel's mournful prophet sent!
Nor thrilled within that grotto lone
Where, deep in night, the Bard of Kings
Felt hands of fire direct his own,
And sweep for God the conscious strings.

I have not climbed to Olivet,
Nor laid me where my Saviour lay,
And left His trace of tears as yet
By angel eyes unwept away;
Nor watched, at midnight's solemn time,
The garden where His prayer and groan,
Wrung by His sorrow and our crime,
Rose to One listening ear alone.

I have not kissed the rock-hewn grot
Where in His mother's arms He lay,
Nor knelt upon the sacred spot
Where last His footsteps pressed the clay;
Nor looked on that sad mountain head,
Nor smote my sinful breast, where wide
His arms to fold the world He spread,
And bowed His head to bless-and died!


Scheme ABABCXCX DEDEFGFG XGXGDHDH IJIJFGFG AHXHKFKF AHXHDIDI
Poetic Form
Metre 111110111 01010101 1111111 1111101 11111101 11111111 11011101 011101001 11110101 1101011 110100101 11011111 11110101 01010111 01010111 010101 01110100 11110101 11110101 11010101 0111111 0110101 11011101 01111001 11111101 11010101 11110111 11010101 1101111 11010111 111100111 01110101 111111 1111111 01111111 1101101 1111101 01011101 111100101 111100101 11110111 10110111 11010101 1111101 11111101 11110111 11110111 01111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,666
Words 316
Sentences 10
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 222
Words per stanza (avg) 52
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:38 min read
124

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. more…

All John Greenleaf Whittier poems | John Greenleaf Whittier Books

5 fans

Discuss this John Greenleaf Whittier poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Holy Land. From Lamartine" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23117/the-holy-land.--from-lamartine>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    0
    hours
    30
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    How many sonnets did William Shakespeare wrote during his life?
    A 154
    B 2
    C 101
    D 5