Faith
She feels outwearied, as though o'er her headA storm of mighty billows broke and passed.Whose hand upheld her? Who her footsteps ledTo this green haven of sweet rest at last?What strength was hers, unreckoned and unknown?What love sustained when she was most alone?
Unutterably pathetic her desire,To reach, with groping arms outstretched in prayer,Something to cling to, to uplift her higherFrom this low world of coward fear and care,Above disaster, that her will may beAt one with God's, accepting his decree.
Though by no reasons she be justified,Yet strangely brave in Evil's very face,She deems this want must needs be satisfied,Though here all slips from out her weak embrace.And in blind ecstasy of perfect faith,With her own dream her prayer she answereth.
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- pathetic a.
- Expressing or showing anger; passionate. [L. patheticus, Gr. pathétique. See Pathos.]
- uplift v. t.
- To lift or raise aloft; to raise; to elevate; as, to uplift the arm; to uplift a rock.
- disaster n.
- An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body; hence, an ill portent. [F. désastre; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See Aster, Astral, Star.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Faith is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Faith, in Admetus, and Other Poems (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/faith.html, id L01876.
Form and metre
Faith is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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 ABABCC headA · passedB · ledA · lastB · unknownC · aloneC
- 2 ABABCC desireA · prayerB · higherA · careB · beC · decreeC
- 3 ABABCC justifiedA · faceB · satisfiedA · embraceB · faithC · answerethC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| She feels outwearied, as though o'er her head | 9 | ········· |
| A storm of mighty billows broke and passed. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whose hand upheld her? Who her footsteps led | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| To this green haven of sweet rest at last? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What strength was hers, unreckoned and unknown? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What love sustained when she was most alone? | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Unutterably pathetic her desire, | 11 | ·····˘/˘·˘/ |
| To reach, with groping arms outstretched in prayer, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Something to cling to, to uplift her higher | 11 | /˘····/˘·/˘ |
| From this low world of coward fear and care, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Above disaster, that her will may be | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| At one with God's, accepting his decree. | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Though by no reasons she be justified, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Yet strangely brave in Evil's very face, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| She deems this want must needs be satisfied, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Though here all slips from out her weak embrace. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And in blind ecstasy of perfect faith, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/·· |
| With her own dream her prayer she answereth. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
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.