Analysis of The Banner Of The Jew
Emma Lazarus 1849 (New York City) – 1887 (New York City)
Wake, Israel, wake! Recall to-day
The glorious Maccabean rage,
The sire heroic, hoary-gray,
His five-fold lion-lineage:
The Wise, the Elect, the Help-of-God,
The Burst-of-Spring, the Avenging Rod.
From Mizpeh's mountain-ridge they saw
Jerusalem's empty streets, her shrine
Laid waste where Greeks profaned the Law,
With idol and with pagan sign.
Mourners in tattered black were there,
With ashes sprinkled on their hair.
Then from the stony peak there rang
A blast to ope the graves: down poured
The Maccabean clan, who sang
Their battle-anthem to the Lord.
Five heroes lead, and following, see,
Ten thousand rush to victory!
Oh for Jerusalem's trumpet now,
To blow a blast of shattering power,
To wake the sleepers high and low,
And rouse them to the urgent hour!
No hand for vengeance-but to save,
A million naked swords should wave.
Oh deem not dead that martial fire,
Say not the mystic flame is spent!
With Moses' law and David's lyre,
Your ancient strength remains unbent.
Let but an Ezra rise anew,
To lift the BANNER OF THE JEW!
A rag, a mock at first-erelong,
When men have bled and women wept,
To guard its precious folds from wrong,
Even they who shrunk, even they who slept,
Shall leap to bless it, and to save.
Strike! for the brave revere the brave!
Scheme | AXAXBB CDCDEE FGFGHH XIXIJJ IXXAKK FLXLJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001111 01000101 010010101 11110100 010010111 011100101 1110111 010010101 1111101 11001101 10010101 11010111 11010111 01110111 0010111 11010101 110101001 11011100 110100101 1101110010 11010101 011101010 11110111 01010111 111111010 11010111 11010101 1101011 11110101 11010101 0101111 11110101 11110111 1011110111 11111011 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,236 |
Words | 219 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 164 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 53 Views
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"The Banner Of The Jew" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12723/the-banner-of-the-jew>.
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