Analysis of How The Robin Came
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
AN ALGONQUIN LEGEND.
HAPPY young friends, sit by me,
Under May's blown apple-tree,
While these home-birds in and out
Through the blossoms flit about.
Hear a story, strange and old,
By the wild red Indians told,
How the robin came to be:
Once a great chief left his son,--
Well-beloved, his only one,--
When the boy was well-nigh grown,
In the trial-lodge alone.
Left for tortures long and slow
Youths like him must undergo,
Who their pride of manhood test,
Lacking water, food, and rest.
Seven days the fast he kept,
Seven nights he never slept.
Then the young boy, wrung with pain,
Weak from nature's overstrain,
Faltering, moaned a low complaint
'Spare me, father, for I faint!'
But the chieftain, haughty-eyed,
Hid his pity in his pride.
'You shall be a hunter good,
Knowing never lack of food;
You shall be a warrior great,
Wise as fox and strong as bear;
Many scalps your belt shall wear,
If with patient heart you wait
Bravely till your task is done.
Better you should starving die
Than that boy and squaw should cry
Shame upon your father's son!'
When next morn the sun's first rays
Glistened on the hemlock sprays,
Straight that lodge the old chief sought,
And boiled sainp and moose meat brought.
'Rise and eat, my son!' he said.
Lo, he found the poor boy dead!
As with grief his grave they made,
And his bow beside him laid,
Pipe, and knife, and wampum-braid,
On the lodge-top overhead,
Preening smooth its breast of red
And the brown coat that it wore,
Sat a bird, unknown before.
And as if with human tongue,
'Mourn me not,' it said, or sung;
'I, a bird, am still your son,
Happier than if hunter fleet,
Or a brave, before your feet
Laying scalps in battle won.
Friend of man, my song shall cheer
Lodge and corn-land; hovering near,
To each wigwam I shall bring
Tidings of the corning spring;
Every child my voice shall know
In the moon of melting snow,
When the maple's red bud swells,
And the wind-flower lifts its bells.
As their fond companion
Men shall henceforth own your son,
And my song shall testify
That of human kin am I.'
Thus the Indian legend saith
How, at first, the robin came
With a sweeter life from death,
Bird for boy, and still the same.
If my young friends doubt that this
Is the robin's genesis,
Not in vain is still the myth
If a truth be found therewith
Unto gentleness belong
Gifts unknown to pride and wrong;
Happier far than hate is praise,--
He who sings than he who slays.
Scheme | X AABBCCA DDEEFFGG HHXDIIJJXXKLLKDMMD NNOOPP QQQPPRRSSDTTDUUVVFFWWDDMM XYXYXXXXZZNN |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101010 1011111 1011101 1111001 1010101 1010101 10111001 1010111 1011111 1011101 1011111 0010101 1110101 111101 111111 1010101 1010111 1011101 1011111 11101 10010101 1110111 1010101 1110011 1110101 1010111 11101001 1110111 1011111 1110111 1011111 1011101 1110111 1011101 1110111 101011 1110111 0110111 1011111 1110111 1111111 0110111 1010101 1011101 1011111 0011111 1010101 0111101 1111111 1011111 10011101 1010111 1010101 1111111 10111001 1110111 1010101 10011111 0011101 101111 00110111 111010 1111111 011110 1110111 10100101 1110101 1010111 1110101 1111111 1010100 1011101 101111 1010001 1011101 10011111 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,346 |
Words | 451 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 7, 8, 18, 6, 25, 12 |
Lines Amount | 77 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 266 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:15 min read
- 53 Views
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"How The Robin Came" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22916/how-the-robin-came>.
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