The Star of Bethlehem
When marshal'd on the nightly plain,The glittering host bestud the sky;One star alone, of all the train,Can fix the sinner's wandering eye.
Hark! hark! to God the chorus breaks,From every host, from every gem;But one alone the Saviour speaks,It is the Star of Bethlehem.
Once on the raging seas I rode,The storm was loud,--the night was dark,The ocean yawn'd--and rudely blow'dThe wind that toss'd my foundering bark.
Deep horror then my vitals froze,Death-struck, I ceased the tide to stem;When suddenly a star arose,It was the Star of Bethlehem.
It was my guide, my light, my all,It bade my dark forebodings cease;And through the storm and dangers' thrallIt led me to the port of peace.
Now safely moor'd--my peril's o'er,I'll sing, first in night's diadem,For ever, and for evermore,The Star!--The Star of Bethlehem!
Words in this poem
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
- bestud v. t.
- To set or adorn, as with studs or bosses; to set thickly; to stud; as, to bestud with stars.
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- bethlehem n.
- A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam. [Heb. b house of food; b house + lekhem food, lakham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of ]
- rode n.
- Redness; complexion. [See Rud.]
- vitals n.
- Organs that are necessary for life; more especially, the heart, lungs, and brain.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Star of Bethlehem is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Henry Kirk White : With a Memoir by Sir Harris Nicolas, Project Gutenberg ebook #7149; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Kirke White, The Star of Bethlehem, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/the-star-of-bethlehem.html, id L10149.
Form and metre
The Star of Bethlehem is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 8% 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 ABAB plainA · skyB · trainA · eyeB
- 2 -A-A breaks · gemA · speaks · bethlehemA
- 3 ABAB rodeA · darkB · blow'dA · barkB
- 4 ABAB frozeA · stemB · aroseA · bethlehemB
- 5 ABAB allA · ceaseB · thrallA · peaceB
- 6 -A-A o'er · diademA · evermore · bethlehemA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When marshal'd on the nightly plain, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The glittering host bestud the sky; | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/·· |
| One star alone, of all the train, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Can fix the sinner's wandering eye. | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| Hark! hark! to God the chorus breaks, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From every host, from every gem; | 10 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘· |
| But one alone the Saviour speaks, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| It is the Star of Bethlehem. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Once on the raging seas I rode, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The storm was loud,--the night was dark, | 8 | ········ |
| The ocean yawn'd--and rudely blow'd | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The wind that toss'd my foundering bark. | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Deep horror then my vitals froze, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Death-struck, I ceased the tide to stem; | 9 | ····˘···· |
| When suddenly a star arose, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| It was the Star of Bethlehem. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It was my guide, my light, my all, | 8 | ········ |
| It bade my dark forebodings cease; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And through the storm and dangers' thrall | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It led me to the port of peace. | 8 | ········ |
| Now safely moor'd--my peril's o'er, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I'll sing, first in night's diadem, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For ever, and for evermore, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The Star!--The Star of Bethlehem! | 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.