Talitha Cumi
JAIRUS at the feet of CHRISTUS.O Master! I entreat thee! I implore thee!My daughter lieth at the point of death;I pray thee come and lay thy hands upon her,And she shall live!
CHRISTUS.Who was it touched my garments?
SIMON PETER.Thou seest the multitude that throng and press thee,And sayest thou: Who touched me? 'T was not I.
CHRISTUS.Some one hath touched my garments; I perceiveThat virtue is gone out of me.
A WOMAN.O Master!Forgive me! For I said within myself,If I so much as touch his garment's hem,I shall be whole.
CHRISTUS.Be of good comfort, daughter!Thy faith hath made thee whole. Depart in peace.
A MESSENGER from the house.Why troublest thou the Master? Hearest thou notThe flute players, and the voices of the womenSinging their lamentation? She is dead!
We have girded ourselves with sackcloth!We have covered our heads with ashes!For our young men die, and our maidensSwoon in the streets of the city;And into their mother's bosomThey pour out their souls like water!
CHRISTUS, going in.Give place. Why make ye this ado, and weep?She is not dead, but sleepeth.
THE MOTHER, from within.Cruel Death!To take away front me this tender blossom!To take away my dove, my lamb, my darling!
He hath led me and brought into darkness,Like the dead of old in dark places!He hath bent his bow, and hath set meApart as a mark for his arrow!He hath covered himself with a cloud,That our prayer should not pass through and reach him!
THE CROWD.He stands beside her bed! He takes her hand!Listen, he speaks to her!
CHRISTUS, within.Maiden, arise!
THE CROWD.See, she obeys his voice! She stirs! She lives!Her mother holds her folded in her arms!O miracle of miracles! O marvel!
Words in this poem
- entreat v. t.
- To treat, or conduct toward; to deal with; to use. [OE. entreten to treat, request, OF. entraiter to treat of; pref. en- (L. in) + traitier to treat. See Treat.]
- 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,]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- sackcloth n.
- Linen or cotton cloth such a sacks are made of; coarse cloth; anciently, a cloth or garment worn in mourning, distress, mortification, or penitence.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Talitha Cumi 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, Talitha Cumi, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/talitha-cumi.html.
Form and metre
Talitha Cumi is 53 lines in 14 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.
- 3 -AA peter · theeA · iA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| JAIRUS at the feet of CHRISTUS. | 8 | ········ |
| O Master! I entreat thee! I implore thee! | 11 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/· |
| My daughter lieth at the point of death; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I pray thee come and lay thy hands upon her, | 11 | ··········· |
| And she shall live! | 4 | ···· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Who was it touched my garments? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| SIMON PETER. | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Thou seest the multitude that throng and press thee, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And sayest thou: Who touched me? 'T was not I. | 10 | ·········· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Some one hath touched my garments; I perceive | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| That virtue is gone out of me. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A WOMAN. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| O Master! | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Forgive me! For I said within myself, | 10 | ˘/·······/ |
| If I so much as touch his garment's hem, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I shall be whole. | 4 | ···· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Be of good comfort, daughter! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Thy faith hath made thee whole. Depart in peace. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| A MESSENGER from the house. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Why troublest thou the Master? Hearest thou not | 11 | ·/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| The flute players, and the voices of the women | 12 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| Singing their lamentation? She is dead! | 10 | /˘········ |
| We have girded ourselves with sackcloth! | 10 | ··/˘˘˘/·/˘ |
| We have covered our heads with ashes! | 10 | ··/˘/˘··/˘ |
| For our young men die, and our maidens | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Swoon in the streets of the city; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And into their mother's bosom | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| They pour out their souls like water! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| CHRISTUS, going in. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Give place. Why make ye this ado, and weep? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| She is not dead, but sleepeth. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| THE MOTHER, from within. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Cruel Death! | 3 | /˘· |
| To take away front me this tender blossom! | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| To take away my dove, my lamb, my darling! | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| He hath led me and brought into darkness, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Like the dead of old in dark places! | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| He hath bent his bow, and hath set me | 9 | ········· |
| Apart as a mark for his arrow! | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| He hath covered himself with a cloud, | 10 | ··/˘˘˘/··· |
| That our prayer should not pass through and reach him! | 10 | ·/········ |
| THE CROWD. | 2 | ·· |
| He stands beside her bed! He takes her hand! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Listen, he speaks to her! | 6 | /˘···· |
| CHRISTUS, within. | 4 | ···· |
| Maiden, arise! | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| THE CROWD. | 2 | ·· |
| See, she obeys his voice! She stirs! She lives! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Her mother holds her folded in her arms! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| O miracle of miracles! O marvel! | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘·/˘ |
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.