Blind Bartimeus
Blind Bartimeus at the gatesOf Jericho in darkness waits;He hears the crowd;—he hears a breathSay, “It is Christ of Nazareth!”And calls, in tones of agony,Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με!
The thronging multitudes increase;Blind Bartimeus, hold thy peace!But still, above the noisy crowd,The beggar’s cry is shrill and loud;Until they say, “He calleth thee!”Θάρσει ἔγειραι, φωνεῖ δε!
Then saith the Christ, as silent standsThe crowd, “What wilt thou at my hands?”And he replies, “O give me light!Rabbi, restore the blind man’s sight.”And Jesus answers, ὝπαγεἩ πίστις σου σέσωκέ δε!
Ye that have eyes, yet cannot see,In darkness and in misery,Recall those mighty Voices Three,Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με!Θάρσει ἔγειραι, ὕπαγε!Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ δε!
Words in this poem
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- rabbi n.
- Master; lord; teacher; -- a Jewish title of respect or honor for a teacher or doctor of the law.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Blind Bartimeus 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, Blind Bartimeus, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/blind-bartimeus.html, id L17503.
Form and metre
Blind Bartimeus is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABB-- gatesA · waitsA · breathB · nazarethB · agony · —
- 2 AABB-- increaseA · peaceA · crowdB · loudB · thee · —
- 3 AABBCC standsA · handsA · lightB · sightB · — · —
- 4 A-ABBB seeA · misery · threeA · — · — · —
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Blind Bartimeus at the gates | 7 | ······· |
| Of Jericho in darkness waits; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| He hears the crowd;—he hears a breath | 8 | ········ |
| Say, “It is Christ of Nazareth!” | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And calls, in tones of agony, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με! | 0 | |
| The thronging multitudes increase; | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Blind Bartimeus, hold thy peace! | 7 | ······· |
| But still, above the noisy crowd, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The beggar’s cry is shrill and loud; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Until they say, “He calleth thee!” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Θάρσει ἔγειραι, φωνεῖ δε! | 0 | |
| Then saith the Christ, as silent stands | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The crowd, “What wilt thou at my hands?” | 8 | ········ |
| And he replies, “O give me light! | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Rabbi, restore the blind man’s sight.” | 8 | /·˘/···· |
| And Jesus answers, Ὕπαγε | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ δε! | 0 | |
| Ye that have eyes, yet cannot see, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In darkness and in misery, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Recall those mighty Voices Three, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Ἰησοῦ, ἐλέησόν με! | 0 | |
| Θάρσει ἔγειραι, ὕπαγε! | 0 | |
| Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ δε! | 0 |
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.