Martyrs' Song
We meet in joy, though we part in sorrow;We part to-night, but we meet to-morrow.Be it flood or blood the path that's trod,All the same it leads home to God:Be it furnace-fire voluminous,One like God's Son will walk with us.
What are these that glow from afar,These that lean over the golden bar,Strong as the lion, pure as the dove,With open arms and hearts of love?They the blessed ones gone before,They the blessed for evermore.Out of great tribulation they wentHome to their home of Heaven-content;Through flood, or blood, or furnace-fire,To the rest that fulfils desire.
What are these that fly as a cloud,With flashing heads and faces bowed,In their mouths a victorious psalm,In their hands a robe and palm?Welcoming angels these that shine,Your own angel, and yours, and mine;Who have hedged us, both day and nightOn the left hand and the right,Who have watched us both night and dayBecause the devil keeps watch to slay.
Light above light, and Bliss beyond bliss,Whom words cannot utter, lo, Who is This?As a King with many crowns He stands,And our names are graven upon His hands;As a Priest, with God-uplifted eyes,He offers for us His sacrifice;As the Lamb of God for sinners slain,That we too may live He lives again;As our Champion behold Him stand,Strong to save us, at God's Right Hand.
God the Father give us graceTo walk in the light of Jesus' Face.God the Son give us a partIn the hiding-place of Jesus' Heart:God the Spirit so hold us upThat we may drink of Jesus' cup;
Death is short and life is long;Satan is strong, but Christ more strong.At His Word, Who hath led us hither.The Red Sea must part hither and thither.As His Word, Who goes before us too,Jordan must cleave to let us through.
Yet one pang searching and sore,And then Heaven for evermore;Yet one moment awful and dark,Then safety within the Veil and the Ark;Yet one effort by Christ His grace,Then Christ for ever face to face.
God the Father we will adore,In Jesus' Name, now and evermore:God the Son we will love and thankIn this flood and on the further bank:God the Holy Ghost we will praiseIn Jesus' Name, through endless days:God Almighty, God Three in One,God Almighty, God alone.
Words in this poem
- voluminous a.
- Of or pertaining to volume or volumes. Specifically: -- (a) Consisting of many folds, coils, or convolutions. [L. voluminosus: cf. F. volumineux.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- tribulation n.
- That which occasions distress, trouble, or vexation; severe affliction. [OE. tribulacium, F. tribulation, L. tribulatio, from tribulare to press, afflict, fr. tribulum a thrashing sledge, akin to terere, tritum, to rub. See Trite.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- graven p. p.
- Carved. Graven image, an idol; an object of worship carved from wood, stone, etc.
- jordan n.
- A pot or vessel with a large neck, formerly used by physicians and alchemists. Halliwell. [Prob. fr. the river Jordan, and shortened fr. Jordan bottle a bottle of water from the Jordan, brought back by pilgrims.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Martyrs' Song 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, Martyrs' Song, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/martyrs-song.html, id L04339.
Form and metre
Martyrs' Song is 62 lines in 8 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 4 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AABBCC sorrowA · morrowA · trodB · godB · voluminousC · usC
- 2 AABBCCDDEE afarA · barA · doveB · loveB · beforeC · evermoreC · wentD · contentD · fireE · desireE
- 3 AABBCCDDEE cloudA · bowedA · psalmB · palmB · shineC · mineC · nightD · rightD · dayE · slayE
- 4 AABB--CCDD blissA · thisA · standsB · handsB · eyes · sacrifice · slainC · againC · standD · handD
- 5 AABBCC graceA · faceA · partB · heartB · upC · cupC
- 6 AABBCC longA · strongA · hitherB · thitherB · tooC · throughC
- 7 AABBCC soreA · evermoreA · darkB · arkB · graceC · faceC
- 8 AABBCC-- adoreA · evermoreA · thankB · bankB · praiseC · daysC · one · alone
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We meet in joy, though we part in sorrow; | 10 | ········/˘ |
| We part to-night, but we meet to-morrow. | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Be it flood or blood the path that's trod, | 9 | ········· |
| All the same it leads home to God: | 8 | ········ |
| Be it furnace-fire voluminous, | 9 | ··/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| One like God's Son will walk with us. | 8 | ········ |
| What are these that glow from afar, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| These that lean over the golden bar, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Strong as the lion, pure as the dove, | 8 | ···/···· |
| With open arms and hearts of love? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| They the blessed ones gone before, | 8 | ···˘···· |
| They the blessed for evermore. | 8 | ···˘·/˘· |
| Out of great tribulation they went | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| Home to their home of Heaven-content; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Through flood, or blood, or furnace-fire, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| To the rest that fulfils desire. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| What are these that fly as a cloud, | 8 | ········ |
| With flashing heads and faces bowed, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In their mouths a victorious psalm, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| In their hands a robe and palm? | 7 | ······· |
| Welcoming angels these that shine, | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| Your own angel, and yours, and mine; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Who have hedged us, both day and night | 8 | ········ |
| On the left hand and the right, | 7 | ······· |
| Who have watched us both night and day | 8 | ········ |
| Because the devil keeps watch to slay. | 8 | ···/···· |
| Light above light, and Bliss beyond bliss, | 9 | ········· |
| Whom words cannot utter, lo, Who is This? | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| As a King with many crowns He stands, | 8 | ····/··· |
| And our names are graven upon His hands; | 10 | ·/··/˘···· |
| As a Priest, with God-uplifted eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He offers for us His sacrifice; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| As the Lamb of God for sinners slain, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| That we too may live He lives again; | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| As our Champion behold Him stand, | 8 | ·//˘˘/·· |
| Strong to save us, at God's Right Hand. | 8 | ········ |
| God the Father give us grace | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To walk in the light of Jesus' Face. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| God the Son give us a part | 7 | ······· |
| In the hiding-place of Jesus' Heart: | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| God the Spirit so hold us up | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| That we may drink of Jesus' cup; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Death is short and life is long; | 7 | ······· |
| Satan is strong, but Christ more strong. | 8 | /˘······ |
| At His Word, Who hath led us hither. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The Red Sea must part hither and thither. | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| As His Word, Who goes before us too, | 9 | ········· |
| Jordan must cleave to let us through. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Yet one pang searching and sore, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And then Heaven for evermore; | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| Yet one moment awful and dark, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Then safety within the Veil and the Ark; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Yet one effort by Christ His grace, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Then Christ for ever face to face. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| God the Father we will adore, | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| In Jesus' Name, now and evermore: | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| God the Son we will love and thank | 8 | ········ |
| In this flood and on the further bank: | 9 | ······/˘· |
| God the Holy Ghost we will praise | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| In Jesus' Name, through endless days: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| God Almighty, God Three in One, | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| God Almighty, God alone. | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
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.