When I Awake I Am Still with Thee
STILL, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,When the bird waketh and the shadows flee;Fairer than morning, lovelier than the daylight,Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee!
Alone with Thee, amid the mystic shadows,The solemn hush of nature newly born;Alone with Thee in breathless adoration,In the calm dew and freshness of the morn.
As in the dawning o'er the waveless oceanThe image of the morning star doth rest,So in this stillness Thou beholdest onlyThine image in the waters of my breast.
Still, still with Thee! as to each new-born morningA fresh and solemn splendor still is given,So doth this blessed consciousness, awaking,Breathe, each day, nearness unto Thee and heaven.
When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber,Its closing eye looks up to Thee in prayer;Sweet the repose beneath the wings o'ershading,But sweeter still to wake and find Thee there.
So shall it be at last, in that bright morningWhen the soul waketh and life's shadows flee;O, in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with Thee!
Words in this poem
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- breathless a.
- Spent with labor or violent action; out of breath.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- waveless a.
- Free from waves; undisturbed; not agitated; as, the waveless sea.
- stillness n.
- The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity.
- 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,]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
When I Awake I Am Still with Thee is in the public domain. This text is taken from Religious Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #44778; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harriet Beecher Stowe, When I Awake I Am Still with Thee, in Religious Poems (1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44778, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stowe-religious-poems/when-i-awake-i-am-still-with-thee.html, id L22727.
Form and metre
When I Awake I Am Still with Thee is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 -A-A breaketh · fleeA · daylight · theeA
- 2 -A-A shadows · bornA · adoration · mornA
- 3 -A-A ocean · restA · only · breastA
- 5 -A-A slumber · prayerA · o'ershading · thereA
- 6 -A-A morning · fleeA · dawning · theeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| STILL, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| When the bird waketh and the shadows flee; | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Fairer than morning, lovelier than the daylight, | 12 | /˘·/˘·····/· |
| Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee! | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Alone with Thee, amid the mystic shadows, | 11 | ˘/··˘/·/˘/· |
| The solemn hush of nature newly born; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Alone with Thee in breathless adoration, | 11 | ˘/···/˘·˘/˘ |
| In the calm dew and freshness of the morn. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As in the dawning o'er the waveless ocean | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The image of the morning star doth rest, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| So in this stillness Thou beholdest only | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Thine image in the waters of my breast. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Still, still with Thee! as to each new-born morning | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| A fresh and solemn splendor still is given, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| So doth this blessed consciousness, awaking, | 10 | ····/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Breathe, each day, nearness unto Thee and heaven. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber, | 11 | ····˘/···/˘ |
| Its closing eye looks up to Thee in prayer; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Sweet the repose beneath the wings o'ershading, | 11 | ··˘/······· |
| But sweeter still to wake and find Thee there. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So shall it be at last, in that bright morning | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| When the soul waketh and life's shadows flee; | 10 | ·······/·· |
| O, in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning, | 11 | ···//˘·/·/˘ |
| Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with Thee! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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