Abou Ben Adhem
“Abou Ben Adhem” has won its way to the popular heart because the“Brotherhood of Man” is the motto of this age. (1784-1859.)
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,And saw within the moonlight in his room,Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold;And to the presence in the room he said,“What writest thou?” The vision raised its head,And, with a look made of all sweet accord,Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”
“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,But cheerly still; and said, “I pray thee, then,Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.”
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next nightIt came again, with a great wakening light,And showed the names whom love of God had blessed;And, lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.
Words in this poem
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- wakening n.
- The act of one who wakens; esp., the act of ceasing to sleep; an awakening.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Abou Ben Adhem is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, Abou Ben Adhem, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/abou-ben-adhem.html, id L25216.
Form and metre
Abou Ben Adhem is 20 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABB- increaseA · peaceA · roomB · bloomB · gold
- 3 -AABB bold · saidA · headA · accordB · lordB
- 4 AABB soA · lowA · thenB · menB
- 5 AABB nightA · lightA · blessedB · restB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “Abou Ben Adhem” has won its way to the popular heart because the | 17 | ˘/·········/˘···· |
| “Brotherhood of Man” is the motto of this age. (1784-1859.) | 12 | /˘·····/˘··· |
| Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| And saw within the moonlight in his room, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, | 11 | /˘·····/˘·· |
| An angel writing in a book of gold. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold; | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| And to the presence in the room he said, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| “What writest thou?” The vision raised its head, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And, with a look made of all sweet accord, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.” | 10 | /˘········ |
| “And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,” | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘/··· |
| But cheerly still; and said, “I pray thee, then, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.” | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| It came again, with a great wakening light, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And showed the names whom love of God had blessed; | 10 | ·········· |
| And, lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest. | 10 | ·········· |
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.