To a Passionist
Clad in a vestment wrought with passion-flowers;Celebrant of one Passion; called by namePassionist: is thy world, one world with ours?Thine, a like heart? Thy very soul, the same?
Thou pleadest an eternal sorrow: wePraise the still changing beauty of this earth.Passionate good and evil, thou dost see:Our eyes behold the dreams of death and birth.
We love the joys of men: we love the dawn,Red with the sun, and with the pure dew pearledThy stern soul feels, after the sun withdrawn,How much pain goes to perfecting the world.
Canst thou be right? Is thine the very truth?Stands then our life in so forlorn a state?Nay, but thou wrongest us: thou wrong'st our youth,Who dost our happiness compassionate.
And yet! and yet! O royal Calvary!Whence divine sorrow triumphed through years past:Could ages bow before mere memory?Those passion-flowers must blossom, to the last.
Purple they bloom, the splendour of a King:Crimson they bleed, the sacrament of Death:About our thrones and pleasaunces they cling,Where guilty eyes read, what each blossom saith.
Words in this poem
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- celebrant n.
- One who performs a public religious rite; -- applied particularly to an officiating priest in the Roman Catholic Church, as distinguished from his assistants. [L. celebrans, p. pr. of celebrare. See Celebrate.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- calvary n.
- The place where Christ was crucified, on a small hill outside of Jerusalem. Luke xxiii. 33. [L. calvaria a bare skull, fr. calva the scalp without hair. fr. calvus bald; cf. F. calvaire.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- sacrament n.
- The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrament. See Sacred.]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Passionist is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #66520; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lionel Johnson, To a Passionist, in Poems (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-lionel-poems/to-a-passionist.html, id L12511.
Form and metre
To a Passionist is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 flowersA · nameB · oursA · sameB
- 2 ABAB weA · earthB · seeA · birthB
- 3 ABAB dawnA · pearledB · withdrawnA · worldB
- 4 ABAB truthA · stateB · youthA · compassionateB
- 5 -A-A calvary · pastA · memory · lastA
- 6 ABAB kingA · deathB · clingA · saithB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Clad in a vestment wrought with passion-flowers; | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Celebrant of one Passion; called by name | 10 | /˘˘··/˘··· |
| Passionist: is thy world, one world with ours? | 11 | /˘˘······/˘ |
| Thine, a like heart? Thy very soul, the same? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thou pleadest an eternal sorrow: we | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Praise the still changing beauty of this earth. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Passionate good and evil, thou dost see: | 10 | /˘˘··/˘··· |
| Our eyes behold the dreams of death and birth. | 10 | /·˘/······ |
| We love the joys of men: we love the dawn, | 10 | ·········· |
| Red with the sun, and with the pure dew pearled | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy stern soul feels, after the sun withdrawn, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| How much pain goes to perfecting the world. | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| Canst thou be right? Is thine the very truth? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Stands then our life in so forlorn a state? | 10 | ··/···˘/·· |
| Nay, but thou wrongest us: thou wrong'st our youth, | 10 | ···/˘···/· |
| Who dost our happiness compassionate. | 11 | ··/˘/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| And yet! and yet! O royal Calvary! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Whence divine sorrow triumphed through years past: | 10 | ·˘//˘/˘··· |
| Could ages bow before mere memory? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Those passion-flowers must blossom, to the last. | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| Purple they bloom, the splendour of a King: | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Crimson they bleed, the sacrament of Death: | 10 | /˘···/˘˘·· |
| About our thrones and pleasaunces they cling, | 10 | ··/······· |
| Where guilty eyes read, what each blossom saith. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
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