Analysis of The Power Of God
John Crowe Ransom 1888 (Pulaski) – 1974 (Gambier)
If the power of God were mine, and the ample turn,
I never could dwell in my law, which is 'stablished and stern,
But my pity would plague me still! In the fare of my state
I would summon my ministers often to reprobate:
'Do ye see them walk on the unwaked streets of the town?
Are they not of my handmaidens, burdened and bending down?
'It is not yet day, and my tale of the stars not told,
But already they bear of their burdens, and tremble of cold.
'Do ye heed not her, ye stony and reconciled,
One gathering sticks for a fire, who is heavy with child?
'And one was so heavy with sleep that she watched not, and slept
Till it nearly was dawn, and then she arose and wept.
'Previsal I made, and the burning of quenchless gold,
Yet still they bedevil my kingdom, the dark and the cold.
'There is labor appointed, I know not if it shall cease,
Yet anon cometh night, and my daughters shall lie in peace.
'What avoideth my glory of firmaments keeping the way,
If the poor soft flesh must trouble before the day?
'Or spectacular stars, as they race to encircuit the deep,
If my littlest people is driven, and needeth sleep?
'For my absolute heaven is high, and nothing dependeth,
Yet it twitcheth my heart, when weeping of women ascendeth.
'Then arrange ye again how the people's task be done,
There shall no woman toil till they see my sign of the sun.'
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF DD GG HH II J J KK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010110100101 1101101111101 11101111001111 11101100101100 111111011101 111111100101 1111101110111 101011111001011 11110110010 110011010111011 01111011111101 1110110110101 1110010111 11101011001001 11100101111111 1110101101101 11110111001 101111100101 1010011111101 1110010110011 111010110101 111111101101 1011011010111 11110111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,350 |
Words | 259 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 80 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 70 Views
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"The Power Of God" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22417/the-power-of-god>.
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