The Offering of the New Law, the One Oblation Once Offered
Once I thought to sit so highIn the Palace of the sky;Now, I thank God for His Grace,If I may fill the lowest place.
Once I thought to scale so soonHeights above the changing moon;Now, I thank God for delay--To-day, it yet is called to-day.
While I stumble, halt and blind,Lo! He waiteth to be kind;Bless me soon, or bless me slow,Except He bless, I let not go.
Once for earth I laid my plan,Once I leaned on strength of man,When my hope was swept aside,I stayed my broken heart on pride:
Broken reed hath pierced my hand;Fell my house I built on sand;Roofless, wounded, maimed by sin,Fightings without and fears within:
Yet, a tree, He feeds my root;Yet, a branch, He prunes for fruit;Yet, a sheep, these eves and morns,He seeks for me among the thorns.
With Thine Image stamped of old,Find Thy coin more choice than gold;Known to Thee by name, recallTo Thee Thy home-sick prodigal.
Sacrifice and OfferingNone there is that I can bring,None, save what is Thine alone:I bring Thee, Lord, but of Thine Own--
Broken Body, Blood Outpoured,These I bring, my God, my Lord;Wine of Life, and Living Bread,With these for me Thy Board is spread.
Words in this poem
- 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; -]
- stayed a.
- Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
- roofless a.
- Having no roof; as, a roofless house.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Offering of the New Law, the One Oblation Once Offered 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 Offering of the New Law, the One Oblation Once Offered, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/the-offering-of-the-new-law-the-one-oblation-once-offered.html, id L04357.
Form and metre
The Offering of the New Law, the One Oblation Once Offered is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% 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 AABB highA · skyA · graceB · placeB
- 2 AABB soonA · moonA · delayB · dayB
- 3 AABB blindA · kindA · slowB · goB
- 4 AABB planA · manA · asideB · prideB
- 5 AABB handA · sandA · sinB · withinB
- 6 AABB rootA · fruitA · mornsB · thornsB
- 7 AABB oldA · goldA · recallB · prodigalB
- 8 AABB offeringA · bringA · aloneB · ownB
- 9 AABB outpouredA · lordA · breadB · spreadB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Once I thought to sit so high | 7 | ······· |
| In the Palace of the sky; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Now, I thank God for His Grace, | 7 | ······· |
| If I may fill the lowest place. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Once I thought to scale so soon | 7 | ······· |
| Heights above the changing moon; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Now, I thank God for delay-- | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| To-day, it yet is called to-day. | 8 | ········ |
| While I stumble, halt and blind, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Lo! He waiteth to be kind; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Bless me soon, or bless me slow, | 7 | ······· |
| Except He bless, I let not go. | 8 | ········ |
| Once for earth I laid my plan, | 7 | ······· |
| Once I leaned on strength of man, | 8 | ···˘···· |
| When my hope was swept aside, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| I stayed my broken heart on pride: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Broken reed hath pierced my hand; | 8 | /˘···˘·· |
| Fell my house I built on sand; | 7 | ······· |
| Roofless, wounded, maimed by sin, | 8 | /˘/˘·˘·· |
| Fightings without and fears within: | 8 | /˘······ |
| Yet, a tree, He feeds my root; | 7 | ······· |
| Yet, a branch, He prunes for fruit; | 7 | ······· |
| Yet, a sheep, these eves and morns, | 7 | ······· |
| He seeks for me among the thorns. | 8 | ········ |
| With Thine Image stamped of old, | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| Find Thy coin more choice than gold; | 7 | ······· |
| Known to Thee by name, recall | 7 | ·····/· |
| To Thee Thy home-sick prodigal. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Sacrifice and Offering | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| None there is that I can bring, | 7 | ······· |
| None, save what is Thine alone: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| I bring Thee, Lord, but of Thine Own-- | 8 | ········ |
| Broken Body, Blood Outpoured, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| These I bring, my God, my Lord; | 7 | ······· |
| Wine of Life, and Living Bread, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| With these for me Thy Board is spread. | 8 | ········ |
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.