Consecration
How great the tale, that there should be,In God's Son's heart, a place for me!That on a sinner's lips like mine,The cross of Jesus Christ should shine!
Christ Jesus, bend me to Thy will,My feet to urge, my griefs to still;That even my flesh and blood may beA temple sanctified to Thee.
No rest, no calm, my soul may win,Because my body craves to sin,Till Thou, dear Lord, Thyself impartPeace to my head, light to my heart.
May consecration come from far,Soft shining like the evening star!My toilsome path make plain to me,Until I come to rest in Thee.
Words in this poem
- sanctified a.
- Made holy; also, made to have the air of sanctity; sanctimonious.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Consecration is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poem-Book of the Gael Translations from Irish Gaelic Poetry into English Prose and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #46917; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eleanor Hull, Consecration, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/consecration.html, id L11707.
Form and metre
Consecration is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABB beA · meA · mineB · shineB
- 2 AABB willA · stillA · beB · theeB
- 3 AABB winA · sinA · impartB · heartB
- 4 AABB farA · starA · meB · theeB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| How great the tale, that there should be, | 8 | ········ |
| In God's Son's heart, a place for me! | 8 | ········ |
| That on a sinner's lips like mine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The cross of Jesus Christ should shine! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Christ Jesus, bend me to Thy will, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My feet to urge, my griefs to still; | 8 | ········ |
| That even my flesh and blood may be | 8 | ·/······ |
| A temple sanctified to Thee. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| No rest, no calm, my soul may win, | 8 | ········ |
| Because my body craves to sin, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Till Thou, dear Lord, Thyself impart | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Peace to my head, light to my heart. | 8 | ········ |
| May consecration come from far, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Soft shining like the evening star! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| My toilsome path make plain to me, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Until I come to rest in Thee. | 8 | ········ |
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.