Hymn to the Redeemer
Open, O human race,Open wide the gates!Behold there comes to you a mighty One,Who brings you glory and has conquered death.
Before Him let no sound of fear arise,No sad complaints from dolorous companies.All nature makes a feast as if to adornHerself, in presence of the coming Spouse.Bring then, O Children, scatter in the wayThe immortal laurel and the blushing roseWith the pure whiteness of the jessamine.
Behold He comes, the mighty King encrownedWith victory's trophies hither to your midst.Before His face fly Death and Sin away,While Peace and Health move at His either side.Behold the Lord who of rebellious manSuffered Himself the doomAnd payed our ransom with His own heart's blood.
He made Himself the fellow of our grief,He bore our burden and endured our shame.Black over Him did fall the shadow of death.Nor turned the Father to His cry the face—That day when, seeing again the sacred Mount,Came from their tombsThe prophets and the saints of Israel!
Behold the Isaac of the ancient time,Who bends beneath the sword his gentle neckAnd looks upon his slayer with a smile,Kneeling to him in all humility.No pity for the blooming flower of youth;None for that bitter end,Nor for the robbed embraces of the mother.
And now, His death forever witnessing,He brings with Him Divine Humanity,Irradiating all the earth with joyAs when the sun dispels the gloomy cloud;And all the abodes of woe and that dark landWhere dwelt the shadow of deathHe comforts with His presence all divine.
To Him upon His throne of victoryBe lifted up the gaze of every art,Whom glory like a cloud doth gird aroundAnd love angelical encompasseth.Fly thither from the world where grief still sighs,Where death still bides and reigns,Fly, O my song, to Him who thee deserves,
And there relate the sorrows of His peopleWho, from the good astray, still seek the good,Like hart that panteth for the cooling stream,Or bird imprisoned for its native air:He from the sphere divine wherein He dwellsMay send a ray benignTo souls perplexed and lost in their life's way.
Lift, O human race,Lift up your mindsAnd chastened hearts to this most clement King,Who welcomes those who turn to Him in faith!
Words in this poem
- dolorous a.
- Full of grief; sad; sorrowful; doleful; dismal; as, a dolorous object; dolorous discourses. [L. dolorosus, from dolor: cf. F. douloureux. See Dolor.]
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- rebellious a.
- Engaged in rebellion; disposed to rebel of the nature of rebels or of rebellion; resisting government or lawful authority by force.
- slayer n.
- One who slays; a killer; a murderer; a destrroyer of life.
- angelical a.
- Belonging to, or proceeding from, angels; resembling, characteristic of, or partaking of the nature of, an angel; heavenly; divine. [L. angelicus, Gr. angélique.]
- cooling a.
- Adapted to cool and refresh; allaying heat.
- chastened a.
- Corrected; disciplined; refined; purified; toned down. Sir. W.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hymn to the Redeemer is in the public domain. This text is taken from By Frank Sewall (London: Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1893), Project Gutenberg ebook #56711, the Frank Sewall translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Giosuè Carducci, Hymn to the Redeemer, in Poems of Giosuè Carducci (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56711, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carducci-poems/hymn-to-the-redeemer.html, id L26516.
Form and metre
Hymn to the Redeemer is 57 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 AA---A- ariseA · companiesA · adorn · spouse · way · roseA · jessamine
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Open, O human race, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Open wide the gates! | 5 | /˘··· |
| Behold there comes to you a mighty One, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Who brings you glory and has conquered death. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Before Him let no sound of fear arise, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| No sad complaints from dolorous companies. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| All nature makes a feast as if to adorn | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| Herself, in presence of the coming Spouse. | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Bring then, O Children, scatter in the way | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The immortal laurel and the blushing rose | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| With the pure whiteness of the jessamine. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Behold He comes, the mighty King encrowned | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| With victory's trophies hither to your midst. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Before His face fly Death and Sin away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| While Peace and Health move at His either side. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Behold the Lord who of rebellious man | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| Suffered Himself the doom | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| And payed our ransom with His own heart's blood. | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| He made Himself the fellow of our grief, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·/· |
| He bore our burden and endured our shame. | 10 | ··//˘·˘//· |
| Black over Him did fall the shadow of death. | 10 | ······/··· |
| Nor turned the Father to His cry the face— | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That day when, seeing again the sacred Mount, | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| Came from their tombs | 4 | ···· |
| The prophets and the saints of Israel! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Behold the Isaac of the ancient time, | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Who bends beneath the sword his gentle neck | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And looks upon his slayer with a smile, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Kneeling to him in all humility. | 10 | /˘····˘/˘˘ |
| No pity for the blooming flower of youth; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/·· |
| None for that bitter end, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nor for the robbed embraces of the mother. | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| And now, His death forever witnessing, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| He brings with Him Divine Humanity, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Irradiating all the earth with joy | 10 | ˘/˘·˘····· |
| As when the sun dispels the gloomy cloud; | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| And all the abodes of woe and that dark land | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Where dwelt the shadow of death | 7 | ···/··· |
| He comforts with His presence all divine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| To Him upon His throne of victory | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Be lifted up the gaze of every art, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Whom glory like a cloud doth gird around | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And love angelical encompasseth. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Fly thither from the world where grief still sighs, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Where death still bides and reigns, | 6 | ······ |
| Fly, O my song, to Him who thee deserves, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And there relate the sorrows of His people | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Who, from the good astray, still seek the good, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Like hart that panteth for the cooling stream, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or bird imprisoned for its native air: | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| He from the sphere divine wherein He dwells | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| May send a ray benign | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To souls perplexed and lost in their life's way. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Lift, O human race, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Lift up your minds | 4 | ···· |
| And chastened hearts to this most clement King, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Who welcomes those who turn to Him in faith! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.