Analysis of The Proclamation
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
SAINT PATRICK, slave to Milcho of the herds
Of Ballymena, wakened with these words:
'Arise, and flee
Out from the land of bondage, and be free!'
Glad as a soul in pain, who hears from heaven
The angels singing of his sins forgiven,
And, wondering, sees
His prison opening to their golden keys,
He rose a man who laid him down a slave,
Shook from his locks the ashes of the grave,
And outward trod
Into the glorious liberty of God.
He east the symbols of his shame away;
And, passing where the sleeping Milcho lay,
Though back and limb
Smarted with wrong, he prayed, 'God pardon him!'
So went he forth; but in God's time he came
To light on Uilline's hills a holy flame;
And, dying, gave
The land a saint that lost him as a slave.
O dark, sad millions, patiently and dumb
Waiting for God, your hour at last has come,
And freedom's song
Breaks the long silence of your night of wrong!
Arise and flee! shake off the vile restraint
Of ages; but, like Ballymena's saint,
The oppressor spare,
Heap only on his head the coals of prayer.
Go forth, like him! like him return again,
To bless the land whereon in bitter pain
Ye toiled at first,
And heal with freedom what your slavery cursed.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIEEJJKKLLMMNOPP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111101 111111 0101 1101110011 11010111110 01010111010 01001 11010011101 1101111101 1111010101 0101 01010010011 1101011101 010101011 1101 1011111101 1111101111 111110101 0101 0101111101 1111010001 10111101111 0101 1011011111 0101110101 1101111 00101 1101110111 1111110101 110110101 1111 01110111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,158 |
Words | 225 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 32 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 912 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 221 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 102 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Proclamation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23176/the-proclamation>.
Discuss this John Greenleaf Whittier 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