Genesis Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD CCCC EFEF GHGH CICI IJIJ KHKH LALA MCMC KIKI BIBI CCCC CCCC CLCL ACACIn the outer world that was before this earth | A |
That was before all shape or space was born | B |
Before the blind first hour of time had birth | A |
Before night knew the moonlight or the morn | B |
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Yea before any world had any light | C |
Or anything called God or man drew breath | D |
Slowly the strong sides of the heaving night | C |
Moved and brought forth the strength of life and death | D |
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And the sad shapeless horror increate | C |
That was all things and one thing without fruit | C |
Limit or law where love was none nor hate | C |
Where no leaf came to blossom from no root | C |
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The very darkness that time knew not of | E |
Nor God laid hand on nor was man found there | F |
Ceased and was cloven in several shapes above | E |
Light and night under and fire earth water and air | F |
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Sunbeams and starbeams and all coloured things | G |
All forms and all similitudes began | H |
And death the shadow cast by life's wide wings | G |
And God the shade cast by the soul of man | H |
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Then between shadow and substance night and light | C |
Then between birth and death and deeds and days | I |
The illimitable embrace and the amorous fight | C |
That of itself begets bears rears and slays | I |
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The immortal war of mortal things that is | I |
Labour and life and growth and good and ill | J |
The mild antiphonies that melt and kiss | I |
The violent symphonies that meet and kill | J |
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All nature of all things began to be | K |
But chiefliest in the spirit beast or man | H |
Planet of heaven or blossom of earth or sea | K |
The divine contraries of life began | H |
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For the great labour of growth being many is one | L |
One thing the white death and the ruddy birth | A |
The invisible air and the all beholden sun | L |
And barren water and many childed earth | A |
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And these things are made manifest in men | M |
From the beginning forth unto this day | C |
Time writes and life records them and again | M |
Death seals them lest the record pass away | C |
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For if death were not then should growth not be | K |
Change nor the life of good nor evil things | I |
Nor were there night at all nor light to see | K |
Nor water of sweet nor water of bitter springs | I |
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For in each man and each year that is born | B |
Are sown the twin seeds of the strong twin powers | I |
The white seed of the fruitful helpful morn | B |
The black seed of the barren hurtful hours | I |
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And he that of the black seed eateth fruit | C |
To him the savour as honey shall be sweet | C |
And he in whom the white seed hath struck root | C |
He shall have sorrow and trouble and tears for meat | C |
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And him whose lips the sweet fruit hath made red | C |
In the end men loathe and make his name a rod | C |
And him whose mouth on the unsweet fruit hath fed | C |
In the end men follow and know for very God | C |
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And of these twain the black seed and the white | C |
All things come forth endured of men and done | L |
And still the day is great with child of night | C |
And still the black night labours with the sun | L |
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And each man and each year that lives on earth | A |
Turns hither or thither and hence or thence is fed | C |
And as a man before was from his birth | A |
So shall a man be after among the dead | C |
Algernon Charles Swinburne
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