Analysis of The Accession
John Keble 1792 (Fairford) – 1866 (Bournemouth)
The voice that from the glory came
To tell how Moses died unseen,
And waken Joshua's spear of flame
To victory on the mountains green,
Its trumpet tones are sounding still,
When Kings or Parents pass away,
They greet us with a cheering thrill
Of power and comfort in decay.
Behind thus soft bright summer cloud
That makes such haste to melt and die,
Our wistful gaze is oft allowed
A glimpse of the unchanging sky:
Let storm and darkness do their worst;
For the lost dream the heart may ache,
The heart may ache, but may not burst;
Heaven will not leave thee nor forsake.
One rock amid the weltering floods,
One torch in a tempestuous night,
One changeless pine in fading woods:-
Such is the thought of Love and Might,
True Might and ever-present Love,
When death is busy near the throne,
Auth Sorrow her keen sting would prove
On Monarchs orphaned and alone.
In that lorn hour and desolate,
Who could endure a crown? but He,
Who singly bore the world's sad weight,
Is near, to whisper, "Lean on Me:
Thy days of toil, thy nights of care,
Sad lonely dreams in crowded hall,
Darkness within, while pageants glare
Around--the Cross supports them all."
Oh, Promise of undying Love!
While Monarchs seek thee for repose,
Far in the nameless mountain cove
Each pastoral heart thy bounty knows.
Ye, who in place of shepherds true
Come trembling to their awful trust,
Lo here the fountain to imbue
With strength and hope your feeble dust.
Not upon Kings or Priests alone
The power of that dear word is spent;
It chants to all in softest tone
The lowly lesson of Content:
Heaven's light is poured on high and low;
To high and low Heaven's Angel spake;
"Resign thee to thy weal or woe,
I ne'er will leave thee nor forsake."
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH XIXIJKXK XLXLMNMN JOXOPQPQ KRKRSHSH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110101 11110101 0101111 110010101 11011101 11110101 11110101 110010001 01111101 11111101 101011101 01100101 11010111 10110111 01111111 101111101 1101011 11001001 1110101 11011101 11010101 11110101 11001111 1110001 011100100 11010111 11010111 11110111 11111111 11010101 10011101 01010111 11010101 1111101 10010101 110011101 11011101 110011101 11010101 11011101 10111101 010111111 11110101 01010110 101111101 110110101 01111111 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,721 |
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) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 224 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:35 min read
- 17 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Accession" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23630/the-accession>.
Discuss this John Keble 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