Analysis of In Memoriam—Rev. J. J. Lyons
Emma Lazarus 1849 (New York City) – 1887 (New York City)
The golden harvest-tide is here, the corn
Bows its proud tops beneath the reaper's hand.
Ripe orchards' plenteous yields enrich the land;
Bring the first fruits and offer them this morn,
With the stored sweetness of all summer hours,
The amber honey sucked from myriad flowers,
And sacrifice your best first fruits to-day,
With fainting hearts and hands forespent with toil,
Offer the mellow harvest's splendid spoil,
To Him who gives and Him who takes away.
Bring timbrels, bring the harp of sweet accord,
And in a pleasant psalm your voice attune,
And blow the cornet greeting the new moon.
Sing, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord,
Who killeth and who quickeneth again,
Who woundeth and who healeth mortal pain,
Whose hand afflicts us, and who sends us peace.
Hail thou slim arc of promise in the West,
Thou pledge of certain plenty, peace, and rest.
With the spent year, may the year's sorrows cease.
For there is mourning now in Israel,
The crown, the garland of the branching tree
Is plucked and withered. Ripe of years was he.
The priest, the good old man who wrought so well
Upon his chosen globe. For he was one
Who at his seed-plot toiled through rain and sun.
Morn found him not as one who slumbereth,
Noon saw him faithful, and the restful night
Stole o'er him at his labors to requite
The just man's service with the just man's death.
What shall be said when such as he do pass?
Go to the hill-side, neath the cypress-trees,
Fall midst that peopled silence on your knees,
And weep that man must wither as the grass.
But mourn him not, whose blameless life complete
Rounded its perfect orb, whose sleep is sweet,
Whom we must follow, but may not recall.
Salute with solemn trumpets the New Year,
And offer honeyed fruits as were he here,
Though ye be sick with wormwood and with gall.
Scheme | ABBACCDEED FGGFXXHIIH XJJXKKLXBL MNNMOOPXXP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 0101011101 111101011 110110101 1011010111 10110111010 010101110010 010111111 110101111 100101101 1111011101 111011101 0001011101 0100110011 1101010101 1101101 11011101 1101101111 1111110001 1111010101 1011101101 1111010100 0101010101 1101011111 0101111111 0111011111 1111111101 11111111 1111000101 1101111011 0111010111 1111111111 1101110101 1111010111 0111110101 1111110101 1010111111 111101111 0111010011 010111011 111111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,780 |
Words | 325 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 352 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 80 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:39 min read
- 100 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"In Memoriam—Rev. J. J. Lyons" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12687/in-memoriam%E2%80%94rev.-j.-j.-lyons>.
Discuss this Emma Lazarus 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