Analysis of Joy and Sorrow chapter VIII
Khalil Gibran 1883 (Bsharri) – 1931 (New York City)
Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
Scheme | X X X X X X X X A X X X X A X X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010111111010 0110 11111001 001111110101101111 011111 0101101011100111101 110111110101111001010 01101111100101111011 111101101110111111011110110111011 1111001010110111101111011111101 1111111011001011101010 1111011101000 010110111011111101010101010111 1110101101110011 10111101111010 101010111111011011111110111 |
Characters | 1,249 |
Words | 240 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 61 |
Words per line (avg) | 15 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 61 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 138 Views
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"Joy and Sorrow chapter VIII" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25204/joy-and-sorrow-chapter-viii>.
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