Analysis of Third Sunday After Trinity
John Keble 1792 (Fairford) – 1866 (Bournemouth)
O hateful spell of Sin! when friends are nigh,
To make stern Memory tell her tale unsought,
And raise accusing shades of hours gone by,
To come between us and all kindly thought!
Chilled at her touch, the self-reproaching soul
Flies from the heart and home she dearest loves,
To where lone mountains tower, or billows roll,
Or to your endless depth, ye solemn groves.
In vain: the averted cheek in loneliest dell
Is conscious of a gaze it cannot bear,
The leaves that rustle near us seem to tell
Our heart's sad secret to the silent air.
Nor is the dream untrue; for all around
The heavens are watching with their thousand eyes,
We cannot pass our guardian angel's bound,
Resigned or sullen, he will hear our sighs.
He in the mazes of the budding wood
Is near, and mourns to see our thankless glance
Dwell coldly, where the fresh green earth is strewed
With the first flowers that lead the vernal dance.
In wasteful bounty showered, they smile unseen,
Unseen by man--but what if purer sprights
By moonlight o'er their dewy bosoms lean
To adore the Father of all gentle lights?
If such there be, O grief and shame to think
That sight of thee should overcloud their joy,
A new-born soul, just waiting on the brink
Of endless life, yet wrapt in earth's annoy!
O turn, and be thou turned! the selfish tear,
In bitter thoughts of low-born care begun,
Let it flow on, but flow refined and clear,
The turbid waters brightening as they run.
Let it flow on, till all thine earthly heart
In penitential drops have ebbed away,
Then fearless turn where Heaven hath set thy part,
Nor shudder at the Eye that saw thee stray.
O lost and found! all gentle souls below
Their dearest welcome shall prepare, and prove
Such joy o'er thee, as raptured seraphs know,
Who learn their lesson at the Throne of Love.
Scheme | ABAB CDCX EFEF BGBG BHBH IDIX JKJK FLXL BMBM NXNX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (80%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1101111111 1111001011 01010111011 1101101101 11010111 1101011101 11110101101 1111011101 0100101011 1101011101 0111011111 10111010101 1101011101 01011011101 11011010011 01110111101 1001010101 11011110101 1101011111 10110110101 01010101101 0111111101 111011011 10101011101 1111110111 11111111 0111110101 1101110101 1101110101 0101111101 1111110101 0110100111 1111111101 01111001 11011101111 1101011111 1101110101 1101010101 111011111 1111010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,800 |
Words | 326 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 141 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:39 min read
- 107 Views
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"Third Sunday After Trinity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23639/third-sunday-after-trinity>.
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