Analysis of The Annunciation Of The Blessed Virgin
John Keble 1792 (Fairford) – 1866 (Bournemouth)
Oh! Thou who deign'st to sympathise
With all our frail and fleshly ties,
Maker yet Brother dear,
Forgive the too presumptuous thought,
If, calming wayward grief, I sought
To gaze on Thee too near.
Yet sure 'twas not presumption, Lord,
'Twas Thine own comfortable word
That made the lesson known:
Of all the dearest bonds we prove,
Thou countest sons and mothers' love
Most sacred, most Thine own.
When wandering here a little span,
Thou took'st on Thee to rescue man,
Thou had'st no earthly sire:
That wedded love we prize so dear,
As if our heaven and home were here,
It lit in Thee no fire.
On no sweet sister's faithful breast
Wouldst Thou Thine aching forehead rest,
On no kind brother lean:
But who, O perfect filial heart,
E'er did like Thee a true son's part,
Endearing, firm, serene?
Thou wept'st, meek maiden, mother mild,
Thou wept'st upon thy sinless Child,
Thy very heart was riven:
And yet, what mourning matron here
Would deem thy sorrows bought too dear
By all on this side Heaven?
A Son that never did amiss,
That never shamed His Mother's kiss,
Nor crossed her fondest prayer:
E'en from the tree He deigned to bow,
For her His agonised brow,
Her, His sole earthly care.
Ave Maria! blessed Maid!
Lily of Eden's fragrant shade,
Who can express the love
That nurtured thee so pure and sweet,
Making thy heart a shelter meet
For Jesus' holy dove?
Ave Maria! Mother blest,
To whom, caressing and caressed,
Clings the eternal Child;
Favoured beyond Archangels' dream,
When first on Thee with tenderest gleam
Thy new-born Saviour smiled:-
Ave Maria! thou whose name
All but adoring love may claim,
Yet may we reach thy shrine;
For He, thy Son and Saviour, vows
To crown all lowly lofty brows
With love and joy like thine.
Blessed is the womb that bare Him--blessed
The bosom where His lips were pressed,
But rather blessed are they
Who hear His word and keep it well,
The living homes where Christ shall dwell,
And never pass away.
Scheme | AABCCB XXDXED FFGBHG IIJKKJ LLMHBM AANOON PPEQQE IILRRL SSTAAT IIUVVU |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111111 11101011 101101 010101001 11010111 111111 11110101 11110001 110101 11010111 1110101 110111 110010101 111111101 11111010 11011111 1110100101 1101110 11110101 11110101 111101 111011001 101110111 010101 111110101 11101111 1101110 01110101 11110111 1111110 01110101 11011101 110101 111011111 10111 011101 101011 1011101 110101 11011101 10110101 110101 1010101 11010001 100101 101101 1111111 11111 1010111 11010111 111111 1111011 11110101 110111 11011111 01011101 110111 11110111 01011111 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,932 |
Words | 348 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 151 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 24, 2023
- 1:47 min read
- 72 Views
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"The Annunciation Of The Blessed Virgin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23631/the-annunciation-of-the-blessed-virgin>.
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