Analysis of On Liberty And Slavery
George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883
Alas! and am I born for this,
To wear this slavish chain?
Deprived of all created bliss,
Through hardship, toil and pain!
How long have I in bondage lain,
And languished to be free!
Alas! and must I still complain--
Deprived of liberty.
Oh, Heaven! and is there no relief
This side the silent grave--
To soothe the pain--to quell the grief
And anguish of a slave?
Come Liberty, thou cheerful sound,
Roll through my ravished ears!
Come, let my grief in joys be drowned,
And drive away my fears.
Say unto foul oppression, Cease:
Ye tyrants rage no more,
And let the joyful trump of peace,
Now bid the vassal soar.
Soar on the pinions of that dove
Which long has cooed for thee,
And breathed her notes from Afric's grove,
The sound of Liberty.
Oh, Liberty! thou golden prize,
So often sought by blood--
We crave thy sacred sun to rise,
The gift of nature's God:
Bid Slavery hide her haggard face,
And barbarism fly:
I scorn to see the sad disgrace
In which enslaved I lie.
Dear Liberty! upon thy breast,
I languish to respire;
And like the Swan unto her nest,
I'd to thy smiles retire.
Oh, blest asylum--heavenly balm!
Unto thy boughs I flee--
And in thy shades the storm shall calm,
With songs of Liberty!
Scheme | ABAB BCBC DEDE FGFG HIHI XCXC JXJX KLKL MCMX NCNC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (90%) Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 01011111 111101 01110101 110101 11110101 010111 01011101 011100 110011101 110101 11011101 010101 11001101 11111 11110111 010111 11010101 110111 01010111 110101 1101111 111111 0101111 011100 11001101 110111 11110111 011101 110010101 01001 11110101 010111 11000111 11011 01011001 111101 110101001 101111 00110111 111100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,211 |
Words | 223 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 92 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 76 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"On Liberty And Slavery" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15729/on-liberty-and-slavery>.
Discuss this George Moses Horton 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