The Parable of the Old Man and the Young
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and strops,
And builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 113 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXAAXXBXCCXXBX CC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 681 |
Words | 133 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 2 |
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"The Parable of the Old Man and the Young" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/38552/the-parable-of-the-old-man-and-the-young>.
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