The Garden of Gethsemane
CHRISTUS.My spirit is exceeding sorrowfulEven unto death! Tarry ye here and watch.
PETER.Under this ancient olive-tree, that spreadsIts broad centennial branches like a tent,Let us lie down and rest.
JOHN.What are those torches,That glimmer on Brook Kedron there below us?
JAMES.It is some marriage feast; the joyful maidensGo out to meet the bridegroom.
PETER.I am weary.The struggles of this day have overcome me.
CHRISTUS, falling on his face.Father! all things are possible to thee,--Oh let this cup pass from me! NeverthelessNot as I will, but as thou wilt, be done!
What! could ye not watch with me for one hour?Oh watch and pray, that ye may enter notInto temptation. For the spirit indeedIs willing, but the flesh is weak!
JOHN.Alas!It is for sorrow that our eyes are heavy.--I see again the glimmer of those torchesAmong the olives; they are coming hither.
JAMES.Outside the garden wall the path divides;Surely they come not hither.
CHRISTUS, as before.O my Father!If this cup may not pass away from me,Except I drink of it, thy will be done.
JOHN.Beloved Master,Alas! we know not what to answer thee!It is for sorrow that our eves are heavy.--Behold, the torches now encompass us.
JAMES.They do but go about the garden wall,Seeking for some one, or for something lost.
CHRISTUS, as before.If this cup may not pass away from me,Except I drink of it, thy will be done.
It is enough! Behold, the Son of ManHath been betrayed into the hands of sinners!The hour is come. Rise up, let us be going;For he that shall betray me is at hand.
JOHN.Ah me! See, from his forehead, in the torchlight,Great drops of blood are falling to the ground!
PETER.What lights are these? What torches glare and glistenUpon the swords and armor of these men?And there among them Judas Iscariot!
CHRISTUS.Put up thy sword into its sheath; for theyThat take the sword shall perish with the sword.The cup my Father hath given me to drink,Shall I not drink it? Think'st thou that I cannotPray to my Father, and that he shall give meMore than twelve legions of angels presently!
JUDAS to CHRISTUS, kissing him.Hail, Master! hail!
CHRISTUS.Friend, wherefore art thou come?Whom seek ye?
Jesus of Nazareth.
CHRISTUS.I am he.Are ye come hither as against a thief,With swords and staves to take me? When I dailyWas with you in the Temple, ye stretched forthNo hands to take me! But this is your hour,And this the power of darkness. If ye seekMe only, let these others go their way.
The Disciples depart. CHRISTUS is bound and led away. A certainyoung man follows him, having a linen cloth cast about hisbody. They lay hold of him, and the young man flees from themnaked.
Words in this poem
- centennial a.
- Relating to, or associated with, the commemoration of an event that happened a hundred years before; as, a centennial ode. [L. centum a hundred + annus year.]
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- 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,]
- torchlight n.
- The light of a torch, or of torches. Also adjectively; as, a torchlight procession.
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Garden of Gethsemane 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, The Garden of Gethsemane, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/the-garden-of-gethsemane.html, id L19182.
Form and metre
The Garden of Gethsemane is 83 lines in 22 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.
- 16 -AA- peter · glistenA · menA · iscariot
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 | ·· |
| My spirit is exceeding sorrowful | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Even unto death! Tarry ye here and watch. | 10 | /···/˘···· |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| Under this ancient olive-tree, that spreads | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Its broad centennial branches like a tent, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Let us lie down and rest. | 6 | ······ |
| JOHN. | 1 | · |
| What are those torches, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| That glimmer on Brook Kedron there below us? | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| JAMES. | 1 | · |
| It is some marriage feast; the joyful maidens | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Go out to meet the bridegroom. | 7 | ·····/· |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| I am weary. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The struggles of this day have overcome me. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| CHRISTUS, falling on his face. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Father! all things are possible to thee,-- | 10 | /˘···/˘˘·· |
| Oh let this cup pass from me! Nevertheless | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Not as I will, but as thou wilt, be done! | 10 | ·········· |
| What! could ye not watch with me for one hour? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Oh watch and pray, that ye may enter not | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Into temptation. For the spirit indeed | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘/ |
| Is willing, but the flesh is weak! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| JOHN. | 1 | · |
| Alas! | 2 | ˘/ |
| It is for sorrow that our eyes are heavy.-- | 11 | ···/˘·/··/˘ |
| I see again the glimmer of those torches | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Among the olives; they are coming hither. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| JAMES. | 1 | · |
| Outside the garden wall the path divides; | 10 | //·/˘···˘/ |
| Surely they come not hither. | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| CHRISTUS, as before. | 5 | ····· |
| O my Father! | 4 | ··/˘ |
| If this cup may not pass away from me, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Except I drink of it, thy will be done. | 10 | ·········· |
| JOHN. | 1 | · |
| Beloved Master, | 4 | ˘//˘ |
| Alas! we know not what to answer thee! | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| It is for sorrow that our eves are heavy.-- | 11 | ···/˘·/··/˘ |
| Behold, the torches now encompass us. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| JAMES. | 1 | · |
| They do but go about the garden wall, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Seeking for some one, or for something lost. | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| CHRISTUS, as before. | 5 | ····· |
| If this cup may not pass away from me, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Except I drink of it, thy will be done. | 10 | ·········· |
| It is enough! Behold, the Son of Man | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Hath been betrayed into the hands of sinners! | 11 | ··˘/·····/˘ |
| The hour is come. Rise up, let us be going; | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| For he that shall betray me is at hand. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| JOHN. | 1 | · |
| Ah me! See, from his forehead, in the torchlight, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Great drops of blood are falling to the ground! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| PETER. | 2 | /˘ |
| What lights are these? What torches glare and glisten | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Upon the swords and armor of these men? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And there among them Judas Iscariot! | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Put up thy sword into its sheath; for they | 10 | ·········· |
| That take the sword shall perish with the sword. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The cup my Father hath given me to drink, | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| Shall I not drink it? Think'st thou that I cannot | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Pray to my Father, and that he shall give me | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| More than twelve legions of angels presently! | 11 | ···/˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| JUDAS to CHRISTUS, kissing him. | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Hail, Master! hail! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Friend, wherefore art thou come? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Whom seek ye? | 3 | ··· |
| Jesus of Nazareth. | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| I am he. | 3 | ··· |
| Are ye come hither as against a thief, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With swords and staves to take me? When I daily | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Was with you in the Temple, ye stretched forth | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| No hands to take me! But this is your hour, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And this the power of darkness. If ye seek | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| Me only, let these others go their way. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The Disciples depart. CHRISTUS is bound and led away. A certain | 17 | ·˘/˘˘/······˘/·/˘ |
| young man follows him, having a linen cloth cast about his | 15 | ··/˘·/˘·/˘····· |
| body. They lay hold of him, and the young man flees from them | 14 | /˘············ |
| naked. | 2 | /˘ |
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.