Analysis of The Outlaw
A wild and woeful race he ran
Of lust and sin by land and sea;
Until, abhorred of God and man,
They swung him from the gallows-tree.
And then he climbed the Starry Stair,
And dumb and naked and alone,
With head unbowed and brazen glare,
He stood before the Judgment Throne.
The Keeper of the Records spoke:
"This man, O Lord, has mocked Thy Name.
The weak have wept beneath his yoke,
The strong have fled before his flame.
The blood of babes is on his sword;
His life is evil to the brim:
Look down, decree his doom, O Lord!
Lo! there is none will speak for him."
The golden trumpets blew a blast
That echoed in the crypts of Hell,
For there was Judgment to be passed,
And lips were hushed and silence fell.
The man was mute; he made no stir,
Erect before the Judgment Seat . . .
When all at once a mongrel cur
Crept out and cowered and licked his feet.
It licked his feet with whining cry.
Come Heav'n, come Hell, what did it care?
It leapt, it tried to catch his eye;
Its master, yea, its God was there.
Then, as a thrill of wonder sped
Through throngs of shining seraphim,
The Judge of All looked down and said:
"Lo! here is ONE who pleads for him.
"And who shall love of these the least,
And who by word or look or deed
Shall pity show to bird or beast,
By Me shall have a friend in need.
Aye, though his sin be black as night,
And though he stand 'mid men alone,
He shall be softened in My sight,
And find a pleader by My Throne.
"So let this man to glory win;
From life to life salvation glean;
By pain and sacrifice and sin,
Until he stand before Me -- clean.
For he who loves the least of these
(And here I say and here repeat)
Shall win himself an angel's pleas
For Mercy at My Judgment Seat."
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKLKL MCMCNFNH OPOPQDQD RSRSTLTL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010111 11011101 01011101 11110101 01110101 01010001 11010101 11010101 01010011 11111111 01110111 01110111 01111111 11110101 11011111 11111111 01010101 11000111 11110111 01010101 01111111 01010101 1111011 11010111 11111101 11111111 11111111 11011111 11011101 111101 01111101 11111111 01111101 01111111 11011111 11110101 11111111 01111101 11110011 0101111 11111101 11110101 1101001 01110111 11110111 01110101 1101111 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,663 |
Words | 340 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 216 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:42 min read
- 179 Views
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"The Outlaw" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32606/the-outlaw>.
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