Analysis of I Know You Not
Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)
O Christ, the Vine with living Fruit,
The twelvefold-fruited Tree of Life,
The Balm in Gilead after strife,
The valley Lily and the Rose;
Stronger than Lebanon, Thou Root;
Sweeter than clustered grapes, Thou Vine;
O Best, Thou Vineyard of red wine,
Keeping thy best wine till the close.
Pearl of great price Thyself alone,
And ruddier than the ruby Thou;
Most precious lightning Jasper stone,
Head of the corner spurned before:
Fair Gate of pearl, Thyself the Door;
Clear golden Street, Thyself the Way;
By Thee we journey toward Thee now,
Through Thee shall enter Heaven one day.
I thirst for Thee, full fount and flood;
My heart calls Thine, as deep to deep:
Dost Thou forget Thy sweat and pain,
They provocation on the Cross?
Heart-pierced for me, vouchsafe to keep
The purchase of Thy lavished Blood:
The gain is Thine, Lord, if I gain;
Or if I lose, Thine own the loss.
At midnight (saith the Parable)
A cry was made, the Bridegroom came;
Those who were ready entered in:
The rest, shut out in death and shame,
Strove all too late that Feast to win,
Their die was cast, and fixed their lot;
A gulf divided Heaven from Hell;
The Bridegroom said—I know you not.
But Who is this that shuts the door,
And saith—I know you not—to them?
I see the wounded hands and side,
The brow thorn-tortured long ago:
Yea; This Who grieved and bled and died,
This same is He Who must condemn;
He called, but they refused to know;
So now He hears their cry no more.
Scheme | ABBXACCX DEDFFGEG HIJKIHJK XLMLMNXN FOPQPOQF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11011101 011111 01001101 01010001 10110011 10110111 11110111 10111101 1111101 0110101 11010101 11010101 1111101 1101101 111100111 111101011 11111101 11111111 11011101 1010101 1111111 01011101 01111111 11111101 1110100 0111011 11010100 01110101 11111111 11110111 010101011 0111111 11111101 01111111 11010101 01110101 11110101 11111101 11110111 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,428 |
Words | 267 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 225 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 132 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"I Know You Not" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5821/i-know-you-not>.
Discuss this Christina Georgina Rossetti 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