Analysis of On The Truth Of The Saviour

George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883



E'en John the Baptist did not know
Who Christ the Lord could be,
And bade his own disciples go
The strange event to see.

They said, Art thou the one of whom
'Twas written long before?
Is there another still to come,
Who will all things restore?

This is enough, without a name--
Go, tell him what is done;
Behold the feeble, weak and lame,
With strength rise up and run.

This is enough--the blind now see,
The dumb Hosannas sing;
Devils far from his presence flee,
As shades from morning's wing.

See the distress'd, all bath'd in tears,
Prostrate before him fall;
Immanuel speaks, and Lazarus hears--
The dead obeys his call.

This is enough--the fig-tree dies,
And withers at his frown;
Nature her God must recognize,
And drop her flowery crown.

At his command the fish increase,
And loaves of barley swell--
Ye hungry eat, and hold your peace,
And find a remnant still.

At his command the water blushed,
And all was turned to wine,
And in redundance flowed afresh,
And owned its God divine.

Behold the storms at his rebuke,
All calm upon the sea--
How can we for another look,
When none can work as he?

This is enough--it must be God,
From whom the plagues are driven;
At whose command the mountains nod,
And all the Host of Heaven!


Scheme ABAB XCXC DEDE BFBF XGXG HIHI JXJX XKXK XBXB LELE
Poetic Form Quatrain  (90%)
Etheree  (35%)
Metre 111010111 110111 01110101 010111 11110111 110101 11010111 111101 11010101 111111 01010101 111101 11010111 0111 10111101 111101 10011101 100111 100101001 010111 11010111 010111 1001110 0101001 11010101 011101 11010111 010101 11010101 011111 001101 011101 01011101 110101 11110101 111111 11011111 1101110 11010101 0101110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,240
Words 227
Sentences 12
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 40
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 95
Words per stanza (avg) 23
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:09 min read
49

George Moses Horton

George Moses Horton was an African-American poet and the first African American poet to be published in the Southern United States. His book was published in 1828 while he was still a slave; he remained a slave until he was emancipated late in the Civil War. more…

All George Moses Horton poems | George Moses Horton Books

0 fans

Discuss this George Moses Horton poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "On The Truth Of The Saviour" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15740/on-the-truth-of-the-saviour>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    11
    days
    16
    hours
    8
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Still I Rise"?
    A Maya Angelou
    B Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    C Dylan Thomas
    D Robert Burns