Translated from the French of M. Desbarreaux
Thy judgments, Lord, are just; thou lovest to wearThe face of pity and of love divine;But mine is guilt--thou must not, canst not spare,While heaven is true, and equity is thine.Yes, oh my God!--such crimes as mine, so dread,Leave but the choice of punishment to thee;Thy interest calls for judgment on my head,And even thy mercy dares not plead for me!Thy will be done, since 'tis thy glory's due,Did from mine eyes the endless torrents flow;Smite--it is time--though endless death ensue,I bless the avenging hand that lays me low.But on what spot shall fall thine anger's flood,That has not first been drench'd in Christ's atoning blood?
Words in this poem
- ensue v. t.
- To follow; to pursue; to follow and overtake. [OF. ensevre, OF. & F. ensuivre, fr. L. insequi; in + sequi to pursue. See Sue.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Translated from the French of M. Desbarreaux 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, Translated from the French of M. Desbarreaux, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/translated-from-the-french-of-m-desbarreaux.html, id L10135.
Form and metre
Translated from the French of M. Desbarreaux is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG wearA · divineB · spareA · thineB · dreadC · theeD · headC · meD · dueE · flowF · ensueE · lowF · floodG · bloodG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thy judgments, Lord, are just; thou lovest to wear | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| The face of pity and of love divine; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But mine is guilt--thou must not, canst not spare, | 10 | ·········· |
| While heaven is true, and equity is thine. | 10 | ·/···/˘˘·· |
| Yes, oh my God!--such crimes as mine, so dread, | 10 | ·········· |
| Leave but the choice of punishment to thee; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Thy interest calls for judgment on my head, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And even thy mercy dares not plead for me! | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| Thy will be done, since 'tis thy glory's due, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Did from mine eyes the endless torrents flow; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Smite--it is time--though endless death ensue, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I bless the avenging hand that lays me low. | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| But on what spot shall fall thine anger's flood, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That has not first been drench'd in Christ's atoning blood? | 12 | ········˘/˘· |
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.