'The Love of Christ Which Passeth Knowledge'
I bore with thee long weary days and nights,Through many pangs of heart, through many tears;I bore with thee, thy hardness, coldness, slights,For three and thirty years.
Who else had dared for thee what I have dared?I plunged the depth most deep from bliss above;I not My flesh, I not My spirit spared:Give thou Me love for love.
For thee I thirsted in the daily drouth,For thee I trembled in the nightly frost:Much sweeter thou than honey to My mouth:Why wilt thou still be lost?
I bore thee on My shoulders and rejoiced:Men only marked upon My shoulders borneThe branding cross; and shouted hungry-voiced,Or wagged their heads in scorn.
Thee did nails grave upon My hands, thy nameDid thorns for frontlets stamp between Mine eyes:I, Holy One, put on thy guilt and shame;
A thief upon My right hand and My left;Six hours alone, athirst, in misery:At length in death one smote My heart and cleftA hiding-place for thee.
Nailed to the racking cross, than bed of downMore dear, whereon to stretch Myself and sleep:So did I win a kingdom,--share my crown;A harvest,--come and reap.
Words in this poem
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
- athirst a.
- Wanting drink; thirsty. [OE. ofthurst, AS. ofpyrsted, p. p. of ofpyrstan; pref. of-, intensive + pyrstan to thirst. See Thirst.]
- racking n.
- Spun yarn used in racking ropes.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'The Love of Christ Which Passeth Knowledge' 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, 'The Love of Christ Which Passeth Knowledge', in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/the-love-of-christ-which-passeth-knowledge.html, id L04277.
Form and metre
'The Love of Christ Which Passeth Knowledge' is 27 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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.
- 1 ABAB nightsA · tearsB · slightsA · yearsB
- 2 ABAB daredA · aboveB · sparedA · loveB
- 3 ABAB drouthA · frostB · mouthA · lostB
- 4 ABAB rejoicedA · borneB · voicedA · scornB
- 5 A-A nameA · eyes · shameA
- 6 A-A- leftA · misery · cleftA · thee
- 7 ABAB downA · sleepB · crownA · reapB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I bore with thee long weary days and nights, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Through many pangs of heart, through many tears; | 8 | ·/····/· |
| I bore with thee, thy hardness, coldness, slights, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| For three and thirty years. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who else had dared for thee what I have dared? | 10 | ·········· |
| I plunged the depth most deep from bliss above; | 10 | ·········· |
| I not My flesh, I not My spirit spared: | 9 | ·······/· |
| Give thou Me love for love. | 6 | ······ |
| For thee I thirsted in the daily drouth, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For thee I trembled in the nightly frost: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Much sweeter thou than honey to My mouth: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Why wilt thou still be lost? | 6 | ······ |
| I bore thee on My shoulders and rejoiced: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Men only marked upon My shoulders borne | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The branding cross; and shouted hungry-voiced, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Or wagged their heads in scorn. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Thee did nails grave upon My hands, thy name | 10 | ·········· |
| Did thorns for frontlets stamp between Mine eyes: | 10 | ·········· |
| I, Holy One, put on thy guilt and shame; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A thief upon My right hand and My left; | 10 | ·········· |
| Six hours alone, athirst, in misery: | 9 | ·/˘/˘/·/˘ |
| At length in death one smote My heart and cleft | 10 | ·········· |
| A hiding-place for thee. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Nailed to the racking cross, than bed of down | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| More dear, whereon to stretch Myself and sleep: | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| So did I win a kingdom,--share my crown; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A harvest,--come and reap. | 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.