267. His Anthem to Christ on the Cross
When I behold Thee, almost slain,With one and all parts full of pain:When I Thy gentle heart do seePierced through and dropping blood for me,I'll call, and cry out, thanks to Thee.
Vers. But yet it wounds my soul to thinkThat for my sin Thou, Thou must drink,Even Thou alone, the bitter cupOf fury and of vengeance up.
Chor. Lord, I'll not see Thee to drink allThe vinegar, the myrrh, the gall:
Vers. Chor. But I will sip a little wine;Which done, Lord, say: The rest is Mine.
This crosstree hereDoth Jesus bear,Who sweet'ned firstThe death accurs'd.Here all things ready are, make haste, make haste away;For long this work will be, and very short this day.Why then, go on to act: here's wonders to be doneBefore the last least sand of Thy ninth hour be run;Or ere dark clouds do dull or dead the mid-day's sun.Act when Thou wilt,Blood will be spilt;Pure balm, that shallBring health to all.Why then, beginTo pour first inSome drops of wine,Instead of brine,To search the woundSo long unsound:And, when that's done,Let oil next runTo cure the soreSin made before.And O! dear Christ,E'en as Thou di'st,Look down, and seeUs weep for Thee.And tho', love knows,Thy dreadful woesWe cannot ease,Yet do Thou please,Who mercy art,T' accept each heartThat gladly wouldHelp if it could.Meanwhile let me,Beneath this tree,This honour have,To make my grave.
Words in this poem
- vers n.
- A verse or verses. See Verse.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
267. His Anthem to Christ on the Cross is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hesperides & Noble Numbers: Vol. 1 and 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #22421; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Herrick, 267. His Anthem to Christ on the Cross, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/267-his-anthem-to-christ-on-the-cross.html, id L06278.
Form and metre
267. His Anthem to Christ on the Cross is 52 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 81% of the lines. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.9 syllables. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 AABBB slainA · painA · seeB · meB · theeB
- 2 AABB thinkA · drinkA · cupB · upB
- 3 AA allA · gallA
- 4 AA wineA · mineA
- 5 AA--BBCCCDD--EEEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPP hereA · bearA · first · accurs'd · awayB · dayB · doneC · runC · sunC · wiltD · spiltD · shall · all · beginE · inE · wineE · brineE · woundF · unsoundF · doneG · runG · soreH · beforeH · christI · di'stI · seeJ · theeJ · knowsK · woesK · easeL · pleaseL · artM · heartM · wouldN · couldN · meO · treeO · haveP · graveP
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When I behold Thee, almost slain, | 8 | ··˘/·/·· |
| With one and all parts full of pain: | 8 | ········ |
| When I Thy gentle heart do see | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Pierced through and dropping blood for me, | 9 | ·˘··/˘··· |
| I'll call, and cry out, thanks to Thee. | 8 | ········ |
| Vers. But yet it wounds my soul to think | 9 | ········· |
| That for my sin Thou, Thou must drink, | 8 | ········ |
| Even Thou alone, the bitter cup | 9 | /˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Of fury and of vengeance up. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Chor. Lord, I'll not see Thee to drink all | 9 | ········· |
| The vinegar, the myrrh, the gall: | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Vers. Chor. But I will sip a little wine; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Which done, Lord, say: The rest is Mine. | 8 | ········ |
| This crosstree here | 4 | ···· |
| Doth Jesus bear, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Who sweet'ned first | 3 | ··· |
| The death accurs'd. | 4 | ···· |
| Here all things ready are, make haste, make haste away; | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| For long this work will be, and very short this day. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Why then, go on to act: here's wonders to be done | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Before the last least sand of Thy ninth hour be run; | 12 | ·········/·· |
| Or ere dark clouds do dull or dead the mid-day's sun. | 12 | ············ |
| Act when Thou wilt, | 4 | ···· |
| Blood will be spilt; | 4 | ···· |
| Pure balm, that shall | 4 | ···· |
| Bring health to all. | 4 | ···· |
| Why then, begin | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To pour first in | 4 | ···· |
| Some drops of wine, | 4 | ···· |
| Instead of brine, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| To search the wound | 4 | ···· |
| So long unsound: | 4 | ··˘/ |
| And, when that's done, | 4 | ···· |
| Let oil next run | 4 | ···· |
| To cure the sore | 4 | ···· |
| Sin made before. | 4 | ···· |
| And O! dear Christ, | 4 | ···· |
| E'en as Thou di'st, | 4 | ···· |
| Look down, and see | 4 | ···· |
| Us weep for Thee. | 4 | ···· |
| And tho', love knows, | 4 | ···· |
| Thy dreadful woes | 4 | ·/˘· |
| We cannot ease, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Yet do Thou please, | 4 | ···· |
| Who mercy art, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| T' accept each heart | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| That gladly would | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Help if it could. | 4 | ···· |
| Meanwhile let me, | 4 | /··· |
| Beneath this tree, | 4 | ···· |
| This honour have, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To make my grave. | 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.