Analysis of A Glimpse Of Heaven
Joseph Horatio Chant 1837 (Stoke Underham, Somersetshire, ) – 1928 (England)
As the caged eagle neared the mountain range,
O'er which he oft had soared on pinions strong,
He clapped his wings, moved by some impulse strange,
And then fell dead his prison floor along.
So Moses stood on Pisgah's heights alone,
With sight undimmed, and unabated strength;
He gazed with rapture on the vision shown,
Of the fair land in all its breadth and length;
He saw the vale of Eschol clad with vine,
Mount Libbanus adorned with lordly trees,
Gilead and Achor, with their lowing kine,
And verdant Sharon swept by the sea breeze;
He saw the spot where Jacob's ladder stood,
The oaks at Mamre where their father prayed,
Saw Bashan with its pastures and its wood,
And the rude cave where Abram Sarah laid.
Saw the whole land--its hills and vales and streams,
Its lakes and pools, its vineyards and its groves,
A wealth and glory far beyond his dreams;
Better, it seemed, than all earth's treasure troves.
God then revealed a glimpse of His own face,
Which Moses once desired, but God withheld,
But finished now the God-ordained race,
The battle fought, and every passion quelled.
As he beholds the glory of his Lord,
And looks within the pearly gates ajar,
Snaps, in an instant, life's frail brittle cord,
And he is where the holy angels are.
So is it, likewise, with most dying saints;
They see e'en here the beatific sight;
The spirit then breaks thro' this world's restraints,
And enters into heaven's effulgent light.
Not sorrow snaps the silver cord, but joy;
Not woe, but bliss, expands the golden bowl.
The pitcher breaks when free from earth's alloy,
And fails the wheel when heaven has filled the soul.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD XECE FGFG HXHE IJIJ KLKL MNMN OPOP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1011010101 1011111111 1111111101 0111110101 110111101 11100101 1111010101 1011011101 110111111 1101111 0101011101 0101011011 1101110101 011111101 111110011 0011101101 1011110101 1101110011 0101010111 1011111101 1101011111 11010101101 110101011 01010100101 111010111 0101010101 1011011101 0111010101 111111101 11111011 0101111101 010011011 1101010111 1111010101 010111111 01011101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,605 |
Words | 292 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 141 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:30 min read
- 16 Views
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"A Glimpse Of Heaven" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56000/a-glimpse-of-heaven>.
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