Analysis of To Pennsylvania
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
O STATE prayer-founded! never hung
Such choice upon a people's tongue,
Such power to bless or ban,
As that which makes thy whisper Fate,
For which on thee the centuries wait,
And destinies of man!
Across thy Alleghanian chain,
With groanings from a land in pain,
The west-wind finds its way:
Wild-wailing from Missouri's flood
The crying of thy children's blood
Is in thy ears to-day!
And unto thee in Freedom's hour
Of sorest need God gives the power
To ruin or to save;
To wound or heal, to blight or bless
With fertile field or wilderness,
A free home or a grave!
Then let thy virtue match the crime,
Rise to a level with the time;
And, if a son of thine
Betray or tempt thee, Brutus-like
For Fatherland and Freedom strike
As Justice gives the sign.
Wake, sleeper, from thy dream of ease,
The great occasion's forelock seize;
And let the north-wind strong,
And golden leaves of autumn, be
Thy coronal of Victory
And thy triumphal song.
Scheme | AABCCBDDEFFEGGHIJHKKLMMLNNOPPO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11110101 11010101 1101111 11111101 111101001 010011 01111 1110101 011111 11010101 01011101 101111 010101010 11111010 110111 11111111 11011100 011101 11110101 11010101 010111 01111101 1100101 110101 11011111 01111 010111 01011101 111100 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 917 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 30 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 733 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 169 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 99 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"To Pennsylvania" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23260/to-pennsylvania>.
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