Mary Magdalene Bearing Tidings of the Resurrection
Then was a task of glory all thine own,Nobler than e’er the still, small voice assign’dTo lips in awful music making knownThe stormy splendours of some prophet’s mind.“Christ is arisen!”--by thee, to wake mankind,First from the sepulchre those words were brought!Thou wert to send the mighty rushing windFirst on its way, with those high tidings fraught--“Christ is arisen!” Thou, thou, the sin-enthrall’d!Earth’s outcast, heaven’s own ransom’d one, wert call’dIn human hearts to give that rapture birth:Oh raised from shame to brightness! there doth lieThe tenderest meaning of His ministry,Whose undespairing love still own’d the spirit’s worth.
Words in this poem
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- enthrall v. t.
- To hold in thrall; to enslave. See Inthrall. [Pref. en- + thrall. Cf. Inthrall.]
- outcast a.
- Cast out; degraded. [Cf. Sw. utkasta to cast out.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mary Magdalene Bearing Tidings of the Resurrection is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Felicia Hemans, Mary Magdalene Bearing Tidings of the Resurrection, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/mary-magdalene-bearing-tidings-of-the-resurrection.html, id L19754.
Form and metre
Mary Magdalene Bearing Tidings of the Resurrection is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 ABABBCBCDDE--E ownA · assign'dB · knownA · mindB · mankindB · broughtC · windB · fraughtC · enthrall'dD · call'dD · birthE · lie · ministry · worthE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Then was a task of glory all thine own, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Nobler than e’er the still, small voice assign’d | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| To lips in awful music making known | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| The stormy splendours of some prophet’s mind. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| “Christ is arisen!”--by thee, to wake mankind, | 11 | ··˘/˘····// |
| First from the sepulchre those words were brought! | 9 | ········· |
| Thou wert to send the mighty rushing wind | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| First on its way, with those high tidings fraught-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| “Christ is arisen!” Thou, thou, the sin-enthrall’d! | 11 | ··˘/˘····˘/ |
| Earth’s outcast, heaven’s own ransom’d one, wert call’d | 11 | ·/·/˘······ |
| In human hearts to give that rapture birth: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Oh raised from shame to brightness! there doth lie | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The tenderest meaning of His ministry, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Whose undespairing love still own’d the spirit’s worth. | 12 | ·········/˘· |
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