Analysis of To the Virgin Mary
Mother of Him we call the Christ,
No halo round thy brows we paint,
Incense and prayer we offer not,
Nor mind to title thee as saint.
And yet, no woman's name, of all
With honour from the ages sent,
Mary, is aureoled like thine,
With love and grief and glory blent!
Oh wisely was it that He chose,
Who the unwritten future reads,
To teach the after-world, through thee,
What cherishers Messiah needs.
Thou heard'st the angel's prophecy,
The tidings which the shepherds brought,
Anna and Simeon praising God,
And saw'st that star the Wise Men sought!
Ah, who of us could bear, like thee,
With meekness, God's triumphal light;
Then, still believing, with His Charge,
At midnight take an exile's flight?
Throughout the Son's long helplessness
His good was to thine own preferred;
May we so serve; and still, like Thee,
Stand back to let His voice be heard!
Dispenser once of earthly things,
Thy Best-Beloved thou didst see;
God's hands for others blessing-full,
Could we be poor and glad like thee?
Soul-pierced with sword-like agony,
Not felon's taunt nor soldier's jest;
Beside the God-forsaken Cross,
Could drive thee from it like the rest.
Christ's banner thou alone didst hold
In face of all His foes displayed;
Valiant through all defeat, and but
Heart-stricken that He was betrayed.
Ah, Mary! Could we stand, like thee,
Steadfast; and watch the vowed depart;
And grieve for their defection less
Than for the Saviour's wounded heart?
How must the God, who favour set
On David once and kingly Saul,
And yet foresaw their wanderings,
And loved them through and after all
How must He seal the prophecy,
Declaring thee forever blest,
Whose whole life showed thy worthiness
Of that pure Child thine arms had pressed!
O single-hearted one to kiss
The lifeless and dishonored head,
Fondly as when its baby brow,
By angel wings was canopied!
O self-forgetful, to rejoice
For that Heaven's entrance had been found
By the Beloved: thou content
Thenceforth, alone to close life's round!
In the bright future, sure, though far,
Again, as once, the wide air rings
With praise to Christ! Thy vigil ends,
Meek daughter of a hundred kings!
Virgin, may we partake thy joy,
When Heaven and loyal earth shall lay
At the pierced feet of David's son
A crown He will not put away!
Scheme | ABXB CDXA XEFE FGXG FHXH XIFI JFXF FKXK XLXL FMXM XCJC FKNK NXXA XODO XJXJ XPXP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 10111101 11011111 01011101 11110111 01110111 1110101 101111 11010101 11011111 10010101 11010111 110101 11101100 01010101 100100101 011110111 11111111 1110101 11010111 111111 01011100 11111101 11110111 11111111 01011101 1101111 11110101 11110111 11111100 1111101 01010101 11111101 11010111 01111101 10110101 11011101 11011111 1010101 01110101 1101101 1101111 11010101 0111100 01110101 11110100 01010101 11111100 11111111 11010111 01000101 10111101 110111 11010101 111010111 1001110 1011111 00110111 01110111 11111101 11010101 10110111 110010111 10111101 01111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,206 |
Words | 393 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:02 min read
- 33 Views
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"To the Virgin Mary" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26913/to-the-virgin-mary>.
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