Analysis of To William H. Seward
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
STATESMAN, I thank thee! and, if yet dissent
Mingles, reluctant, with my large content,
I cannot censure what was nobly meant.
But, while constrained to hold even Union less
Than Liberty and Truth and Righteousness,
I thank thee in the sweet and holy name
Of peace, for wise calm words that put to shame
Passion and party. Courage may be shown
Not in defiance of the wrong alone;
He may be bravest who, unweaponed, bears
The olive branch, and, strong in justice, spares
The rash wrong-doer, giving widest scope
To Christian charity and generous hope.
If, without damage to the sacred cause
Of Freedom and the safeguard of its laws —
If, without yielding that for which alone
We prize the Union, thou canst save it now
From a baptism of blood, upon thy brow
A wreath whose flowers no earthly soil have known,
Woven of the beatitudes, shall rest,
And the peacemaker be forever blest!
Scheme | AAABCDDEEFFGGHIEJJEKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011101101 1001011110 1101011101 11011110101 1100010100 1110010101 1111111111 1001010111 1001010101 11110111 0101010101 011110101 11010001001 1011010101 110001111 1011011101 1101011111 10100110111 01110110111 1010111 001010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 871 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 21 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 697 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 156 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 42 Views
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"To William H. Seward" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23268/to-william-h.-seward>.
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