Quia Multum Amavit Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABABACACADADAEAEFGFG HDIDJKJKLMLMNONOJPJP JQJQARARASASJTJTUVUV FUFULWLWXQYQJJJJLULU LZLZLULUURURLLLLJA2J A2AB2AB2JRJRHC2HC2D2 AD2AAHAHHUHUB2UB2UUE 2UE2UF2UF2HUHUAG2AG2 JUJUAH2AH2Am I not he that hath made thee and begotten thee | A |
I God the spirit of man | B |
Wherefore now these eighteen years hast thou forgotten me | A |
From whom thy life began | B |
Thy life blood and thy life breath and thy beauty | A |
Thy might of hands and feet | C |
Thy soul made strong for divinity of duty | A |
And service which was sweet | C |
Through the red sea brimmed with blood didst thou not follow me | A |
As one that walks in trance | D |
Was the storm strong to break or the sea to swallow thee | A |
When thou wast free and France | D |
I am Freedom God and man O France that plead with thee | A |
How long now shall I plead | E |
Was I not with thee in travail and in need with thee | A |
Thy sore travail and need | E |
Thou wast fairest and first of my virgin vested daughters | F |
Fairest and foremost thou | G |
And thy breast was white though thy hands were red with slaughters | F |
Thy breast a harlot's now | G |
O foolish virgin and fair among the fallen | H |
A ruin where satyrs dance | D |
A garden wasted for beasts to crawl and brawl in | I |
What hast thou done with France | D |
Where is she who bared her bosom but to thunder | J |
Her brow to storm and flame | K |
And before her face was the red sea cloven in sunder | J |
And all its waves made tame | K |
And the surf wherein the broad based rocks were shaking | L |
She saw far off divide | M |
At the blast of the breath of the battle blown and breaking | L |
And weight of wind and tide | M |
And the ravin and the ruin of throned nations | N |
And every royal race | O |
And the kingdoms and kings from the state of their high stations | N |
That fell before her face | O |
Yea great was the fall of them all that rose against her | J |
From the earth's old historied heights | P |
For my hands were fire and my wings as walls that fenced her | J |
Mine eyes as pilot lights | P |
Not as guerdons given of kings the gifts I brought her | J |
Not strengths that pass away | Q |
But my heart my breath of life O France O daughter | J |
I gave thee in that day | Q |
Yea the heart's blood of a very God I gave thee | A |
Breathed in thy mouth his breath | R |
Was my word as a man's having no more strength to save thee | A |
From this worse thing than death | R |
Didst thou dream of it only the day that I stood nigh thee | A |
Was all its light a dream | S |
When that iron surf roared backwards and went by thee | A |
Unscathed of storm or stream | S |
When thy sons rose up and thy young men stood together | J |
One equal face of fight | T |
And my flag swam high as the swimming sea foam's feather | J |
Laughing a lamp of light | T |
Ah the lordly laughter and light of it that lightened | U |
Heaven high the heaven's whole length | V |
Ah the hearts of heroes pierced the bright lips whitened | U |
Of strong men in their strength | V |
Ah the banner poles the stretch of straightening streamers | F |
Straining their full reach out | U |
Ah the men's hands making true the dreams of dreamers | F |
The hopes brought forth in doubt | U |
Ah the noise of horse the charge and thunder of drumming | L |
And swaying and sweep of swords | W |
Ah the light that led them through of the world's life coming | L |
Clear of its lies and lords | W |
By the lightning of the lips of guns whose flashes | X |
Made plain the strayed world's way | Q |
By the flame that left her dead old sins in ashes | Y |
Swept out of sight of day | Q |
By thy children whose bare feet were shod with thunder | J |
Their bare hands mailed with fire | J |
By the faith that went with them waking fear and wonder | J |
Heart's love and high desire | J |
By the tumult of the waves of nations waking | L |
Blind in the loud wide night | U |
By the wind that went on the world's waste waters making | L |
Their marble darkness white | U |
As the flash of the flakes of the foam flared lamplike leaping | L |
From wave to gladdening wave | Z |
Making wide the fast shut eyes of thraldom sleeping | L |
The sleep of the unclean grave | Z |
By the fire of equality terrible devouring | L |
Divine that brought forth good | U |
By the lands it purged and wasted and left flowering | L |
With bloom of brotherhood | U |
By the lips of fraternity that for love's sake uttered | U |
Fierce words and fires of death | R |
But the eyes were deep as love's and the fierce lips fluttered | U |
With love's own living breath | R |
By thy weaponed hands brows helmed and bare feet spurning | L |
The bared head of a king | L |
By the storm of sunrise round thee risen and burning | L |
Why hast thou done this thing | L |
Thou hast mixed thy limbs with the son of a harlot a stranger | J |
Mouth to mouth limb to limb | A2 |
Thou bride of a God because of the bridesman Danger | J |
To bring forth seed to him | A2 |
For thou thoughtest inly the terrible bridegroom wakes me | A |
When I would sleep to go | B2 |
The fire of his mouth consumes and the red kiss shakes me | A |
More bitter than a blow | B2 |
Rise up my beloved go forth to meet the stranger | J |
Put forth thine arm he saith | R |
Fear thou not at all though the bridesman should be Danger | J |
The bridesmaid should be Death | R |
I the bridegroom am I not with thee O bridal nation | H |
O wedded France to strive | C2 |
To destroy the sins of the earth with divine devastation | H |
Till none be left alive | C2 |
Lo her growths of sons foliage of men and frondage | D2 |
Broad boughs of the old world tree | A |
With iron of shame and with pruning hooks of bondage | D2 |
They are shorn from sea to sea | A |
Lo I set wings to thy feet that have been wingless | A |
Till the utter race be run | H |
Till the priestless temples cry to the thrones made kingless | A |
Are we not also undone | H |
Till the immeasurable Republic arise and lighten | H |
Above these quick and dead | U |
And her awful robes be changed and her red robes whiten | H |
Her warring robes of red | U |
But thou wouldst not saying I am weary and faint to follow | B2 |
Let me lie down and rest | U |
And hast sought out shame to sleep with mire to wallow | B2 |
Yea a much fouler breast | U |
And thine own hast made prostitute sold and shamed and bared it | U |
Thy bosom which was mine | E2 |
And the bread of the word I gave thee hast soiled and shared it | U |
Among these snakes and swine | E2 |
As a harlot thou wast handled and polluted | U |
Thy faith held light as foam | F2 |
That thou sentest men thy sons thy sons imbruted | U |
To slay thine elder Rome | F2 |
Therefore O harlot I gave thee to the accurst one | H |
By night to be defiled | U |
To thy second shame and a fouler than the first one | H |
That got thee first with child | U |
Yet I know thee turning back now to behold me | A |
To bow thee and make thee bare | G2 |
Not for sin's sake but penitence by my feet to hold me | A |
And wipe them with thine hair | G2 |
And sweet ointment of thy grief thou hast brought thy master | J |
And set before thy lord | U |
From a box of flawed and broken alabaster | J |
Thy broken spirit poured | U |
And love offerings tears and perfumes hast thou given me | A |
To reach my feet and touch | H2 |
Therefore thy sins which are many are forgiven thee | A |
Because thou hast loved much | H2 |
Algernon Charles Swinburne
(1)
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