Analysis of A Bruised Reed Shall He Not Break

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



I will accept thy will to do and be,
Thy hatred and intolerance of sin,
Thy will at least to love, that burns within
And thirsteth after Me:
So will I render fruitful, blessing still,
The germs and small beginnings in thy heart,
Because thy will cleaves to the better part.—
Alas, I cannot will.

Dost not thou will, poor soul? Yet I receive
The inner unseen longings of the soul,
I guide them turning towards Me; I control
And charm hearts till they grieve:
If thou desire, it yet shall come to pass,
Though thou but wish indeed to choose My love;
For I have power in earth and heaven above.—
I cannot wish, alas!

What, neither choose nor wish to choose? and yet
I still must strive to win thee and constrain:
For thee I hung upon the cross in pain,
How then can I forget?
If thou as yet dost neither love, nor hate,
Nor choose, nor wish,—resign thyself, be still
Till I infuse love, hatred, longing, will.—
I do not deprecate.


Scheme ABBACDDC EFFEGHHG IJJIKCCK
Poetic Form
Metre 1101111101 1100010011 1111111101 01101 1111010101 0101010011 0111110101 011101 1111111101 0100110101 11110011101 011111 11010111111 1111011111 111100101001 110101 1101111101 1111111001 1111010101 111101 1111110111 111101111 1101110101 11110
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 922
Words 181
Sentences 10
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 238
Words per stanza (avg) 58
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

54 sec read
191

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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