Lord, Is It I?
CHRISTUS.One of you shall betray me.
Is it I?Lord, is it I?
CHRISTUS.One of the Twelve it isThat dippeth with me in this dish his hand;He shall betray me. Lo, the Son of ManGoeth indeed as it is written of Him;But woe shall be unto that man by whomHe is betrayed! Good were it for that manIf he had ne'er been born!
Lord, is it I?
CHRISTUS.Ay, thou hast said. And that thou doest, do quickly.
JUDAS ISCARIOT, going out.Ah, woe is me!
CHRISTUS.All ye shall be offendedBecause of me this night; for it is written:Awake, O sword, against my shepherd! SmiteThe shepherd, saith the Lord of hosts, and scatteredShall be the sheep!--But after I am risenI go before you into Galilee.
PETER.O Master! though all men shall be offendedBecause of thee, yet will not I be!
CHRISTUS.Simon,Behold how Satan hath desired to have you,That he may sift you as one sifteth wheat!Whither I go thou canst not follow me--Not now; but thou shalt follow me hereafter.
PETER.Wherefore can I not follow thee? I am readyTo go with thee to prison and to death.
CHRISTUS.Verily I say unto thee, this night,Ere the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice!
PETER.Though I should die, yet will I not deny thee.
CHRISTUS.When first I sent you forth without a purse,Or scrip, or shoes, did ye lack anything?
Not anything.
CHRISTUS.But he that hath a purse,Now let him take it, and likewise his scrip;And he that hath no sword, let him go sellHis clothes and buy one. That which hath been writtenMust be accomplished now: He hath poured outHis soul even unto death; he hath been numberedWith the transgressors, and himself hath borneThe sin of many, and made intercessionFor the transgressors. And here have an endThe things concerning me.
PETER.Behold, O Lord,Behold here are two swords!
CHRISTUS.It is enough.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- scrip n.
- A small bag; a wallet; a satchel. [OE. scrippe, probably of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. & OSw. skreppa, and also LL. scrippum, OF. esquerpe, escrepe, F. écharpe scarf. Cf. Scarp, Scarf a piece of dr]
- intercession n.
- The act of interceding; mediation; interposition between parties at variance, with a view to reconcilation; prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of, or (less often) against, another or others. [L. intercessio an intervention, a becoming surety: cf. F. intercession. See Intercede.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lord, Is It I? is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; 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 Wadsworth Longfellow, Lord, Is It I?, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/lord-is-it-i.html, id L19181.
Form and metre
Lord, Is It I? is 61 lines in 17 stanzas.
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.
- 2 AA iA · iA
- 3 ---A--A- christus · is · hand · manA · him · whom · manA · born
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| One of you shall betray me. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Is it I? | 3 | ··· |
| Lord, is it I? | 4 | ···· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| One of the Twelve it is | 6 | ······ |
| That dippeth with me in this dish his hand; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He shall betray me. Lo, the Son of Man | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Goeth indeed as it is written of Him; | 10 | ·˘/···/˘·· |
| But woe shall be unto that man by whom | 10 | ·········· |
| He is betrayed! Good were it for that man | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| If he had ne'er been born! | 6 | ······ |
| Lord, is it I? | 4 | ···· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Ay, thou hast said. And that thou doest, do quickly. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| JUDAS ISCARIOT, going out. | 9 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Ah, woe is me! | 4 | ···· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| All ye shall be offended | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Because of me this night; for it is written: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Awake, O sword, against my shepherd! Smite | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| The shepherd, saith the Lord of hosts, and scattered | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Shall be the sheep!--But after I am risen | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| I go before you into Galilee. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| O Master! though all men shall be offended | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Because of thee, yet will not I be! | 9 | ········· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Simon, | 2 | /˘ |
| Behold how Satan hath desired to have you, | 11 | ˘/·/˘·˘/··· |
| That he may sift you as one sifteth wheat! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whither I go thou canst not follow me-- | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Not now; but thou shalt follow me hereafter. | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Wherefore can I not follow thee? I am ready | 12 | /˘···/˘···/˘ |
| To go with thee to prison and to death. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Verily I say unto thee, this night, | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| Ere the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Though I should die, yet will I not deny thee. | 11 | ········˘/· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| When first I sent you forth without a purse, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or scrip, or shoes, did ye lack anything? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Not anything. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| But he that hath a purse, | 6 | ······ |
| Now let him take it, and likewise his scrip; | 10 | ······/··· |
| And he that hath no sword, let him go sell | 10 | ·········· |
| His clothes and buy one. That which hath been written | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Must be accomplished now: He hath poured out | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| His soul even unto death; he hath been numbered | 11 | ··/······/˘ |
| With the transgressors, and himself hath borne | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| The sin of many, and made intercession | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| For the transgressors. And here have an end | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| The things concerning me. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Behold, O Lord, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Behold here are two swords! | 6 | ˘/···· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| It is enough. | 4 | ··˘/ |
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