A Picture
A DIM rich space, a vault of arching gold,A furious, shouting rabble pressing near,A single sentinel to bar and holdWith his one spear.
I see the Roman ruler careless sitTo judge the cause in his accustomed place;I see the coarse, dull, cruel meanings flitAcross his face.
I see the pitiless priests who urge and rave,Intent to see the victim sacrificed,Fearful that scruple or that plea should save—Where is the Christ?
Not that pale shape which stands amid the press,In gentle patience uncomplainingly,Clad in the whiteness of his Teacher’s dress—That is not he!
That slender flame were easily blown out;One furious gust of human hate, but one!One chilling breath of treason or of doubt—And it were gone!
But thou, O mighty Christ, endurest still;Quenchless thy fire, fed by immortal breath,Lord of the heart, Lord of the erring will,And Lord of Death!
King of the world, thou livest to the end,Ruling the nations as no other can;Best comrade, healer, teacher, guide, best friendAnd help of man.
I see thee, not a wan and grieving shape,Facing, like lamb led forth for sacrifice,The destiny from which is no escape,With mild, sad eyes,—
But strong and brave and resolute to bear,Knowing that Death, once conquered, was to beThy willing thrall, thy servant grave and fair,Best help to thee!
The vision changes on the pictured scene;The pallid Victim fades, and in his placeComes a victorious, steadfast, glorious mien,The true Christ’s face.
Words in this poem
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- scruple n.
- A weight of twenty grains; the third part of a dram. [L. scrupulus a small sharp or pointed stone, the twenty-fourth part of an ounce, a scruple, uneasiness, doubt, dim. of scrupus a rough or sharp stone, anxiety, ]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- quenchless a.
- Incapable of being quenched; inextinguishable; as, quenchless fire or fury.
- healer n.
- One who, or that which, heals.
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Picture is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Few More Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #49518; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Susan Coolidge, A Picture, in A Few More Verses (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49518, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coolidge-few-more-verses/a-picture.html, id L23464.
Form and metre
A Picture is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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.
- 1 ABAB goldA · nearB · holdA · spearB
- 2 ABAB sitA · placeB · flitA · faceB
- 3 ABAB raveA · sacrificedB · saveA · christB
- 4 A-A- pressA · uncomplainingly · dressA · he
- 5 A-A- outA · one · doubtA · gone
- 6 ABAB stillA · breathB · willA · deathB
- 7 ABAB endA · canB · friendA · manB
- 8 A-A- shapeA · sacrifice · escapeA · eyes
- 9 ABAB bearA · beB · fairA · theeB
- 10 ABAB sceneA · placeB · mienA · faceB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A DIM rich space, a vault of arching gold, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A furious, shouting rabble pressing near, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| A single sentinel to bar and hold | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| With his one spear. | 4 | ···· |
| I see the Roman ruler careless sit | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| To judge the cause in his accustomed place; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| I see the coarse, dull, cruel meanings flit | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Across his face. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| I see the pitiless priests who urge and rave, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Intent to see the victim sacrificed, | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘· |
| Fearful that scruple or that plea should save— | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Where is the Christ? | 4 | ···· |
| Not that pale shape which stands amid the press, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| In gentle patience uncomplainingly, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Clad in the whiteness of his Teacher’s dress— | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| That is not he! | 4 | ···· |
| That slender flame were easily blown out; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| One furious gust of human hate, but one! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| One chilling breath of treason or of doubt— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And it were gone! | 4 | ···· |
| But thou, O mighty Christ, endurest still; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Quenchless thy fire, fed by immortal breath, | 10 | /˘·/··˘/˘· |
| Lord of the heart, Lord of the erring will, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And Lord of Death! | 4 | ···· |
| King of the world, thou livest to the end, | 10 | ·········· |
| Ruling the nations as no other can; | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Best comrade, healer, teacher, guide, best friend | 10 | ·/·/˘/˘··· |
| And help of man. | 4 | ···· |
| I see thee, not a wan and grieving shape, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Facing, like lamb led forth for sacrifice, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| The destiny from which is no escape, | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| With mild, sad eyes,— | 4 | ···· |
| But strong and brave and resolute to bear, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Knowing that Death, once conquered, was to be | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Thy willing thrall, thy servant grave and fair, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Best help to thee! | 4 | ···· |
| The vision changes on the pictured scene; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The pallid Victim fades, and in his place | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Comes a victorious, steadfast, glorious mien, | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| The true Christ’s face. | 4 | ···· |
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.