Analysis of Joseph Made Known To His Brethren
John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)
When Joseph his brethren beheld,
Afflicted and trembling with fear;
His heart with compassion was filled,
From weeping he could not forbear.
Awhile his behavior was rough,
To bring their past sin to their mind;
But when they were humbled enough,
He hasted to show himself kind.
How little they thought it was he,
Whom they had ill treated and sold!
How great their confusion must be,
As soon as his name he had told!
I am Joseph, your brother, he said,
And still to my heart you are dear,
You sold me, and thought I was dead,
But God, for your sakes, sent me here.
Though greatly distressed before,
When charged with purloining the cup;
They now were confounded much more,
Not one of them durst to look up.
Can Joseph, whom we would have slain.
Forgive us the evil we did?
And will he our households maintain?
O this is a brother indeed!
Thus dragged by my conscience, I came,
And laden with guilt, to the Lord;
Surrounded with terror and shame,
Unable to utter a word.
At first he looked stern and revere,
What anguish then pierced my heart!
Expecting each moment to hear
The sentence, Thou cursed, depart!
But O! what surprise when he spoke,
While tenderness beamed in his face;
My heart then to pieces was broke,
O'erwhelmed and confounded by grace:
Poor sinner, I know thee full well,
By thee I was sold and was slain;
But I died to redeem thee from hell,
And raise thee in glory to reign.
I am Jesus, whom thou hast blasphemed,
And crucified often afresh;
But let me henceforth be esteemed,
Thy brother, thy bone, and thy flesh:
My pardon I freely bestow,
Thy wants I will fully supply;
I'll guide thee and guard thee below,
And soon will remove thee on high.
Go, publish to sinners around,
That they may be willing to come,
The mercy which now you have found,
And tell them that yet there is room.
O, sinners, the message obey!
No more vain excuses pretend;
But come, without farther delay,
To Jesus our brother and friend.
Scheme | ABABCACA DADAABAE FGFGHAHA IAIABAEA JKJKLHLH AMAMANXN AXAXOAOA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101101 010010011 11101011 1101111 01101011 11111111 11101001 1111011 11011111 11111001 11101011 11111111 111011011 01111111 11101111 11111111 1100101 111101 11001011 11111111 11011111 01101011 01110101 11101001 11111011 01011101 01011001 01011001 11111001 1101111 01011011 0101101 11101111 11001011 11111011 1001011 11011111 11111011 111101111 01101011 11101111 0101001 11111101 11011011 11011001 11111001 11101101 01101111 11011001 11111011 01011111 01111111 11001001 11101001 11011001 110101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,888 |
Words | 356 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 214 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:47 min read
- 32 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Joseph Made Known To His Brethren" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23949/joseph-made-known-to-his-brethren>.
Discuss this John Newton 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