Analysis of The Harbinger
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
to the Progresse.
TWo soules moue here, and mine (a third) must moue
Paces of admiration, and of loue;
Thy soule (Deare Virgin) whose this tribute is,
Mou'd from this mortall sphere to liuely blisse,
And yet moues still, and still aspires to see
The worlds last day, thy glories full degree:
Like as those starres which thou ore-lookest farre,
Are in their place, and yet still moued are
No soule (whiles with the luggage of this clay
It clogged is) can follow thee halfe way;
Or see thy flight; which doth our thoughts outgoe
So fast, that now the lightning moues but slow:
But now thou art as high in heauen flowne
As heau'ns from vs; what soule besides thine owne
Can tell thy ioyes, or say he can relate
Thy glorious Iornals in that blessed state?
I enuie thee (Rich soule) I enuy thee,
Although I cannot yet thy glory see:
And thou (Great spirit) which her's follow'd hast
So fast, as none can follow thine so fast;
So farre as none can follow thine so farre,
(And if this flesh did not the passage barre
Had'st caught her) let me wonder at thy flight
Which long agone had'st lost the vulgar sight
And now mak'st proud the better eyes, that they
Can see thee les'ned in thine aery way;
So while thou mak'st her soule by progresse knowne
Thou mak'st a noble progresse of thine owne.
From this worlds carcasse hauing mounted hie
To that pure life of Immortalitie;
Since thine aspiring thoughts themselues so raise
That more may not beseeme a creatures praise,
Yet still thou vow'st her more; and euery yeare
Mak'st a new Progresse, while thou wandrest here;
Still vpward mount; and let thy makers praise
Honor thy Laura, and adorne thy laies.
And since thy Mus[es] head in heauen shrouds
Oh let her neuer stoope below the clouds:
And if those glorious sainted soules may know
Or what we doe, or what we sing below,
Those acts, those songs shall still content them best
Which praise those awfull powers that make them blest.
Scheme | A XBAAACCXBDXBEEFFCAGGCCHHDDEEXFAACXAAAAEBII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101 1111010111 101010011 1111011101 11111111 01110101011 0111110101 111111111 101101111 1111010111 111110111 1111111011 1111010111 111111011 11110110111 1111111101 110010111 11111111 111011101 0111011101 1111110111 1111110111 01111101010 11101110111 1111110101 01111010111 111110111 1111101111 1110101111 11111101 111111 110101111 111110101 1111101011 110111111 111011101 101100111 01111011 1101010101 01110010111 1111111101 1111111011 1111101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,933 |
Words | 352 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 42 |
Lines Amount | 43 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 757 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 175 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 64 Views
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"The Harbinger" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22599/the-harbinger>.
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