Analysis of To St. Micheal in Time of Peace
Gilbert Keith Chesterton 1874 (Kensington, London) – 1936 (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire)
Michael, Michael: Michael of the Morning,
Michael of the Army of the Lord,
Stiffen thou the hand upon the still sword, Michael,
Folded and shut upon the sheathed sword, Michael,
Under the fullness of the white robes falling,
Gird us with the secret of the sword.
When the world cracked because of a sneer in heaven,
Leaving out for all time a scar upon the sky,
Thou didst rise up against the Horror in the highest,
Dragging down the highest that looked down on the Most High:
Rending from the seventh heaven the hell of exaltation
Down the seven heavens till the dark seas burn:
Thou that in thunder threwest down the Dragon
Knowest in what silence the Serpent can return.
Down through the universe the vast night falling
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the Morning!)
Far down the universe the deep calms calling
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the Sword!)
Bid us not forget in the baths of all forgetfulness,
In the sigh long drawn from the frenzy and the fretfulness
In the huge holy sempiternal silence
In the beginning was the Word.
When from the deeps of dying God astounded
Angels and devils who do all but die
Seeing Him fallen where thou couldst not follow,
Seeing Him mounted where thou couldst not fly,
Hand on the hilt, thou hast halted all thy legions
Waiting the Tetelestai and the acclaim,
Swords that salute Him dead and everlasting
God beyond God and greater than His Name.
Round us and over us the cold thoughts creeping
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the battle-cry!)
Round us and under us the thronged world sleeping
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the Charge!)
Guard us the Word; the trysting and the trusting
Edge upon the honour and the blade unrusting
Fine as the hair and tauter than the harpstring
Ready as when it rang upon the targe.
He that giveth peace unto us; not as the world giveth:
He that giveth law unto us; not as the scribes:
Shall he be softened for the softening of the cities
Patient in usury; delicate in bribes?
They that come to quiet us, saying the sword is broken,
Break man with famine, fetter them with gold,
Sell them as sheep; and He shall know the selling
For He was more than murdered. He was sold.
Michael, Michael: Michael of the Mustering,
Michael of the marching on the mountains of the Lord,
Marshal the world and purge of rot and riot
Rule through the world till all the world be quiet:
Only establish when the world is broken
What is unbroken is the word.
Scheme | Abccab dexedfdf aAabgggh xexegiai aeajaaaj xgggdkak ablldh |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010101010 101010101 101010101110 10010101110 10010101110 111010101 101101101010 101111010101 1111010100010 1010101111011 101010100111 10101010111 1101011010 10110010101 1101001110 1010101010 1101001110 101010101 11101001111 001111010001 00110110 00010101 11011101010 1001011111 10110111110 1011011111 110111101110 10010001 1101110010 1011010111 11010101110 10101010101 11010101110 101010101 1101010010 101010011 110101101 1011110101 11101101110110 111011011101 11110101001010 10010010001 11111011001110 1111010111 11110111010 1111110111 10101010100 1010101010101 10010111010 11011101110 10010101110 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,365 |
Words | 438 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 273 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 62 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:11 min read
- 59 Views
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"To St. Micheal in Time of Peace" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/16034/to-st.-micheal-in-time-of-peace>.
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