Analysis of Rabbi Ismael
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
THE Rabbi Ishmael, with the woe and sin
Of the world heavy upon him, entering in
The Holy of Holies, saw an awful Face
With terrible splendor filling all the place.
'O Ishmael Ben Elisha!' said a voice,
'What seekest thou? What blessing is thy choice?'
And, knowing that he stood before the Lord,
Within the shadow of the cherubim,
Wide-winged between the blinding light and him,
He bowed himself, and uttered not a word,
But in the silence of his soul was prayer
'O Thou Eternal! I am one of all,
And nothing ask that others may not share.
Thou art almighty; we are weak and small,
And yet Thy children: let Thy mercy spare!'
Trembling, he raised his eyes, and in the place
Of the insufferable glory, lo! a face
Of more than mortal tenderness, that bent
Graciously down in token of assent,
And, smiling, vanished! With strange joy elate,
The wondering Rabbi sought the temple's gate.
Radiant as Moses from the Mount, he stood
And cried aloud unto the multitude
'O Israel, hear! The Lord our God is good!
Mine eyes have seen his glory and his grace;
Beyond his judgments shall his love endure;
The mercy of the All Merciful is sure!'
Scheme | AABBCCDEEFGHGHGBBIIJJKLKBMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011010101 101100111000 0101111101 11001010101 1101100101 111110111 0101110101 0101101 1101010101 1101010101 1001011111 1101011111 0101110111 1101011101 0111011101 10011110001 100100010101 1111010011 1001010101 0101011101 0100110101 10011010111 010110010 110010110111 1111110011 0111011101 01010110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,115 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 27 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 879 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 206 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 130 Views
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"Rabbi Ismael" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23017/rabbi-ismael>.
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