Analysis of O, Little David, Play on Your Harp
Joseph Seamon Cotter 1861 (Louisville) – 1949
O, Little David, play on your harp,
That ivory harp with the golden strings
And sing as you did in Jewry Land,
Of the Prince of Peace and the God of Love
And the coming Christ Immanuel.
O, Little David, play on your harp.
A seething world is gone stark mad;
And is drunk with the blood,
Gorged with the flesh,
Blinded with the ashes
Of her millions of dead.
From out it all and over all
There stands, years old and fully grown,
A monster in the guise of man.
He is of war and not of war;
Born in peace,
Nurtured in arrogant pride and greed,
World-creature is he and native to no land.
And war itself is merciful
When measured by his deeds.
Beneath the Crescent
Lie a people maimed;
Their only sin--
That they worship God.
On Russia's steppes
Is a race in tears;
Their one offense--
That they would be themselves.
On Flander's plains
Is a nation raped;
A bleeding gift
Of "Kultur's" conquering creed.
And in every land
Are black folk scourged;
Their only crime--
That they dare be men.
O, Little David, play on your harp,
That ivory harp with the golden strings
And psalm anew your songs of Peace,
Of the soothing calm of a Brotherly Love,
And the saving grace of a Mighty God.
O, Little David, play on your harp.
Scheme | ABcdxA xxxxxxxxxefcxxxxxgxxxxxxxfcxxx ABedgA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110101111 1100110101 011110101 1011100111 00101100 110101111 01011111 011101 1101 101010 101011 11110101 11110101 01000111 11110111 101 100100101 11011010111 01011100 110111 01010 10101 1101 11101 1101 10101 1101 111101 111 10101 0101 111001 001001 1111 1101 11111 110101111 1100110101 01011111 10101101001 0010110101 110101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,218 |
Words | 232 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 30, 6 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 311 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 77 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 04, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 99 Views
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"O, Little David, Play on Your Harp" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24593/o%2C-little-david%2C-play-on-your-harp>.
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