Analysis of In Peace
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
A track of moonlight on a quiet lake,
Whose small waves on a silver-sanded shore
Whisper of peace, and with the low winds make
Such harmonies as keep the woods awake,
And listening all night long for their sweet sake
A green-waved slope of meadow, hovered o'er
By angel-troops of lilies, swaying light
On viewless stems, with folded wings of white;
A slumberous stretch of mountain-land, far seen
Where the low westering day, with gold and green,
Purple and amber, softly blended, fills
The wooded vales, and melts among the hills;
A vine-fringed river, winding to its rest
On the calm bosom of a stormless sea,
Bearing alike upon its placid breast,
With earthly flowers and heavenly' stars impressed,
The hues of time and of eternity
Such are the pictures which the thought of thee,
O friend, awakeneth,--charming the keen pain
Of thy departure, and our sense of loss
Requiting with the fullness of thy gain.
Lo! on the quiet grave thy life-borne cross,
Dropped only at its side, methinks doth shine,
Of thy beatitude the radiant sign!
No sob of grief, no wild lament be there,
To break the Sabbath of the holy air;
But, in their stead, the silent-breathing prayer
Of hearts still waiting for a rest like thine.
O spirit redeemed! Forgive us, if henceforth,
With sweet and pure similitudes of earth,
We keep thy pleasant memory freshly green,
Of love's inheritance a priceless part,
Which Fancy's self, in reverent awe, is seen
To paint, forgetful of the tricks of art,
With pencil dipped alone in colors of the heart.
Scheme | ABAAACDDEEFFGHGGHHIJIJKKLLLKMNEOEOO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 011110101 1111010101 1011010111 1100110101 01001111111 0111111010 1101110101 111110111 011110111 101111101 1001010101 0101010101 0111010111 101101011 1001011101 110100100101 0111010100 1101010111 11110011 11010010111 11010111 1101011111 110111111 11101001 1111110111 1101010101 1011010101 1111010111 11001011111 1101111 11110100101 1101000101 1110100111 1101010111 110101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,493 |
Words | 266 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 35 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,199 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 263 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 60 Views
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"In Peace" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22934/in-peace>.
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