Analysis of Easter Even
Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)
There is nothing more that they can do
For all their rage and boast;
Caiaphas with his blaspheming crew,
Herod with his host,
Pontius Pilate in his Judgement-hall
Judging their Judge and his,
Or he who led them all and passed them all,
Arch-Judas with his kiss.
The sepulchre made sure with ponderous Stone,
Seal that same stone, O Priest;
It may be thou shalt block the holy One
From rising in the east:
Set a watch about the sepulchre
To watch on pain of death;
They must hold fast the stone if One should stir
And shake it from beneath.
God Almighty, He can break a seal
And roll away a Stone,
Can grind the proud in dust who would not kneel,
And crush the mighty one.
There is nothing more that they can do
For all their passionate care,
Those who sit in dust, the blessed few,
And weep and rend their hair:
Peter, Thomas, Mary Magdalene,
The Virgin unreproved,
Joseph, with Nicodemus, foremost men,
And John the Well-beloved,
Bring your finest linen and your spice,
Swathe the sacred Dead,
Bind with careful hands and piteous eyes
The napkin round His head;
Lay Him in the garden-rock to rest;
Rest you the Sabbath length:
The Sun that went down crimson in the west
Shall rise renewed in strength.
God Almighty shall give joy for pain,
Shall comfort him who grieves:
Lo! He with joy shall doubtless come again,
And with Him bring His sheaves.
Scheme | Abab cxcx defe gxgx hdhf Agag xaix xjxj klkl xmim |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (70%) Etheree (23%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 111011111 111101 11111 10111 10101101 101101 1111110111 110111 011111001 111111 1111110101 110001 1010101 111111 1111011111 011101 101011101 010101 1101011111 010101 111011111 1111001 11101011 010111 10101010 0101 101111 010101 111010011 10101 11101011 010111 110010111 110101 0111110001 110101 101011111 110111 1111110101 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,320 |
Words | 249 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 106 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 123 Views
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"Easter Even" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5783/easter-even>.
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