Easter Even
There is nothing more that they can doFor all their rage and boast;Caiaphas with his blaspheming crew,Herod with his host,
Pontius Pilate in his Judgement-hallJudging their Judge and his,Or he who led them all and passed them all,Arch-Judas with his kiss.
The sepulchre made sure with ponderous Stone,Seal that same stone, O Priest;It may be thou shalt block the holy OneFrom rising in the east:
Set a watch about the sepulchreTo watch on pain of death;They must hold fast the stone if One should stirAnd shake it from beneath.
God Almighty, He can break a sealAnd roll away a Stone,Can grind the proud in dust who would not kneel,And crush the mighty one.
There is nothing more that they can doFor all their passionate care,Those who sit in dust, the blessed few,And weep and rend their hair:
Peter, Thomas, Mary Magdalene,The Virgin unreproved,Joseph, with Nicodemus, foremost men,And John the Well-beloved,
Bring your finest linen and your spice,Swathe the sacred Dead,Bind with careful hands and piteous eyesThe napkin round His head;
Lay Him in the garden-rock to rest;Rest you the Sabbath length:The Sun that went down crimson in the westShall rise renewed in strength.
God Almighty shall give joy for pain,Shall comfort him who grieves:Lo! He with joy shall doubtless come again,And with Him bring His sheaves.
Words in this poem
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- unreproved a.
- Not reproved. Sandys.
- napkin n.
- A little towel, or small cloth, esp. one for wiping the fingers and mouth at table. [Dim. of OF. nape a tablecloth, cloth, F. nappe, L. mappa. See Napery.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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,]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Easter Even is in the public domain. This text is taken from Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #16950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Christina Rossetti, Easter Even, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/easter-even.html, id L04363.
Form and metre
Easter Even is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 10 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB doA · boastB · crewA · hostB
- 2 A-A- hallA · his · allA · kiss
- 3 -A-A stone · priestA · one · eastA
- 5 A-A- sealA · stone · kneelA · one
- 6 ABAB doA · careB · fewA · hairB
- 8 -A-A spice · deadA · eyes · headA
- 9 ABAB restA · lengthB · westA · strengthB
- 10 ABAB painA · grievesB · againA · sheavesB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There is nothing more that they can do | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| For all their rage and boast; | 6 | ······ |
| Caiaphas with his blaspheming crew, | 8 | ········ |
| Herod with his host, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Pontius Pilate in his Judgement-hall | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Judging their Judge and his, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Or he who led them all and passed them all, | 10 | ·········· |
| Arch-Judas with his kiss. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sepulchre made sure with ponderous Stone, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Seal that same stone, O Priest; | 6 | ······ |
| It may be thou shalt block the holy One | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From rising in the east: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Set a watch about the sepulchre | 8 | ········ |
| To watch on pain of death; | 6 | ······ |
| They must hold fast the stone if One should stir | 10 | ·········· |
| And shake it from beneath. | 6 | ······ |
| God Almighty, He can break a seal | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| And roll away a Stone, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Can grind the proud in dust who would not kneel, | 10 | ·········· |
| And crush the mighty one. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| There is nothing more that they can do | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| For all their passionate care, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Those who sit in dust, the blessed few, | 8 | ········ |
| And weep and rend their hair: | 6 | ······ |
| Peter, Thomas, Mary Magdalene, | 9 | /˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| The Virgin unreproved, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Joseph, with Nicodemus, foremost men, | 10 | /˘·····/·· |
| And John the Well-beloved, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Bring your finest linen and your spice, | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Swathe the sacred Dead, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Bind with careful hands and piteous eyes | 10 | ··/˘··/˘˘· |
| The napkin round His head; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Lay Him in the garden-rock to rest; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Rest you the Sabbath length: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Sun that went down crimson in the west | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Shall rise renewed in strength. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| God Almighty shall give joy for pain, | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| Shall comfort him who grieves: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Lo! He with joy shall doubtless come again, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| And with Him bring His sheaves. | 6 | ······ |
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.