The Three Crosses
Three crosses in this noonday night uplifted,Three human figures that in mortal painGleam white against the supernatural darkness;Two thieves, that writhe in torture, and between themThe Suffering Messiah, the Son of Joseph,Ay, the Messiah Triumphant, Son of David!A crown of thorns on that dishonored head!Those hands that healed the sick now pierced with nails,Those feet that wandered homeless through the worldNow crossed and bleeding, and at rest forever!And the three faithful Maries, overwhelmedBy this great sorrow, kneeling, praying weeping!O Joseph Caiaphas, thou great High-PriestHow wilt thou answer for this deed of blood?
SCRIBES and ELDERS.Thou that destroyest the Temple, and dost build itIn three days, save thyself; and if thou beThe Son of God, come down now from the cross.
Others he saved, himself he cannot save!Let Christ the King of Israel descendThat we may see and believe!
SCRIBES and ELDERS.In God he trusted;Let Him deliver him, if He will have him,And we will then believe.
CHRISTUS.Father! forgive them;They know not what they do.
If thou be Christ,Oh save thyself and us!
Remember me,Lord, when thou comest into thine own kingdom.
CHRISTUS.This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.
MANAHEN.Golgotha! Golgotha! Oh the pain and darkness!Oh the uplifted cross, that shall foreverShine through the darkness, and shall conquer painBy the triumphant memory of this hour!
SIMON MAGUS.O Nazarene! I find thee here at last!Thou art no more a phantom unto me!This is the end of one who called himselfThe Son of God! Such is the fate of thoseWho preach new doctrines. 'T is not what he did,But what he said, hath brought him unto this.I will speak evil of no dignitaries.This is my hour of triumph, Nazarene!
This is the end of him who said to me:Sell that thou hast, and give unto the poor!This is the treasure in heaven he promised me!
CHRISTUS.
A SOLDIER, preparing the hyssop.He calleth for Elias!
ANOTHER.Nay, let be!See if Elias will now come to save him!
CHRISTUS.I thirst.
A SOLDIER.Give him the wormwood!
CHRISTUS, with a loud cry, bowing his head.It is finished!
Words in this poem
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- homeless a.
- Destitute of a home. [AS.hamleas.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- golgotha n.
- Calvary. See the Note under Calvary.
- 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,]
- nazarene n.
- A native or inhabitant of Nazareth; -- a term of contempt applied to Christ and the early Christians.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- hyssop n.
- A plant (Hyssopus officinalis). The leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent taste. [OE. hysope, ysope, OF. ysope, F. hysope, hyssope, L. hysopum, hyssopum, hyssopus, Gr. esov.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Three Crosses 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 Three Crosses, in Christus: A Mystery (1872), Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-christus/the-three-crosses.html.
Form and metre
The Three Crosses is 63 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.
- 1 -----AA------- uplifted · pain · darkness · them · joseph · davidA · headA · nails · world · forever · overwhelmed · weeping · priest · blood
- 10 ----A--A- magus · last · me · himself · thoseA · did · this · dignitariesA · nazarene
- 11 A-A meA · poor · meA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Three crosses in this noonday night uplifted, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘˘ |
| Three human figures that in mortal pain | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Gleam white against the supernatural darkness; | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Two thieves, that writhe in torture, and between them | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| The Suffering Messiah, the Son of Joseph, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| Ay, the Messiah Triumphant, Son of David! | 12 | ··˘/˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| A crown of thorns on that dishonored head! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Those hands that healed the sick now pierced with nails, | 10 | ·········· |
| Those feet that wandered homeless through the world | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Now crossed and bleeding, and at rest forever! | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| And the three faithful Maries, overwhelmed | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| By this great sorrow, kneeling, praying weeping! | 11 | ···/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| O Joseph Caiaphas, thou great High-Priest | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| How wilt thou answer for this deed of blood? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| SCRIBES and ELDERS. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Thou that destroyest the Temple, and dost build it | 12 | ··˘/˘·/˘···· |
| In three days, save thyself; and if thou be | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The Son of God, come down now from the cross. | 10 | ·········· |
| Others he saved, himself he cannot save! | 10 | /˘··˘/·/˘· |
| Let Christ the King of Israel descend | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| That we may see and believe! | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| SCRIBES and ELDERS. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| In God he trusted; | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Let Him deliver him, if He will have him, | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| And we will then believe. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| Father! forgive them; | 5 | /˘˘/· |
| They know not what they do. | 6 | ······ |
| If thou be Christ, | 4 | ···· |
| Oh save thyself and us! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Remember me, | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| Lord, when thou comest into thine own kingdom. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. | 11 | ········/˘· |
| MANAHEN. | 3 | ··· |
| Golgotha! Golgotha! Oh the pain and darkness! | 12 | /˘˘/˘˘····/˘ |
| Oh the uplifted cross, that shall forever | 11 | ··/˘˘···˘/˘ |
| Shine through the darkness, and shall conquer pain | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| By the triumphant memory of this hour! | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··/ |
| SIMON MAGUS. | 4 | /˘·· |
| O Nazarene! I find thee here at last! | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou art no more a phantom unto me! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| This is the end of one who called himself | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The Son of God! Such is the fate of those | 10 | ·········· |
| Who preach new doctrines. 'T is not what he did, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| But what he said, hath brought him unto this. | 10 | ·········· |
| I will speak evil of no dignitaries. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·˘ |
| This is my hour of triumph, Nazarene! | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| This is the end of him who said to me: | 10 | ·········· |
| Sell that thou hast, and give unto the poor! | 10 | ·········· |
| This is the treasure in heaven he promised me! | 11 | ···/˘·/·/˘· |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| A SOLDIER, preparing the hyssop. | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| He calleth for Elias! | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| ANOTHER. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Nay, let be! | 3 | ··· |
| See if Elias will now come to save him! | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| CHRISTUS. | 2 | ·· |
| I thirst. | 2 | ·· |
| A SOLDIER. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Give him the wormwood! | 5 | ···/· |
| CHRISTUS, with a loud cry, bowing his head. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| It is finished! | 4 | ··/˘ |
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