On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770
HAIL, happy saint, on thine immortal throne,Possest of glory, life, and bliss unknown;We hear no more the music of thy tongue,Thy wonted auditories cease to throng.Thy sermons in unequall'd accents flow'd,And ev'ry bosom with devotion glow'd;Thou didst in strains of eloquence refin'dInflame the heart, and captivate the mind.Unhappy we the setting sun deplore,So glorious once, but ah! it shines no more.Behold the prophet in his tow'ring flight!He leaves the earth for heav'n's unmeasur'd height,And worlds unknown receive him from our sight.There Whitefield wings with rapid course his way,And sails to Zion through vast seas of day.Thy pray'rs, great saint, and thine incessant criesHave pierc'd the bosom of thy native skies.Thou moon hast seen, and all the stars of light,How he has wrestled with his God by night.He pray'd that grace in ev'ry heart might dwell,He long'd to see America excell;He charg'd its youth that ev'ry grace divineShould with full lustre in their conduct shine;That Saviour, which his soul did first receive,The greatest gift that ev'n a God can give,He freely offer'd to the num'rous throng,That on his lips with list'ning pleasure hung."Take him, ye wretched, for your only good,"Take him ye starving sinners, for your food;"Ye thirsty, come to this life-giving stream,"Ye preachers, take him for your joyful theme;"Take him my dear Americans, he said,"Be your complaints on his kind bosom laid:"Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you,"Impartial Saviour is his title due:"Wash'd in the fountain of redeeming blood,"You shall be sons, and kings, and priests to God."Great Countess, we Americans revereThy name, and mingle in thy grief sincere;New England deeply feels, the Orphans mourn,Their more than father will no more return.But, though arrested by the hand of death,Whitefield no more exerts his lab'ring breath,Yet let us view him in th' eternal skies,Let ev'ry heart to this bright vision rise;While the tomb safe retains its sacred trust,Till life divine re-animates his dust.
Words in this poem
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- captivate v. t.
- To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue. [L. captivatus, p. p. of captivare to capture, fr. captivus captive. See Captive.]
- deplore v. t.
- To feel or to express deep and poignant grief for; to bewail; to lament; to mourn; to sorrow over. [L. deplorare; de- + plorare to cry out, wail, lament; prob. akin to pluere to rain, and to E. flow: cf. F. déplorer. Cf. Flow.]
- 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.]
- zion n.
- A hill in Jerusalem, which, after the capture of that city by the Israelites, became the royal residence of David and his successors. [Heb. tsiy, originally, a hill.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- excell v. t.
- To go beyond or surpass in good qualities or laudable deeds; to outdo or outgo, in a good sense. [L. excellere, excelsum; ex out + a root found in culmen height, top; cf. F. exceller. See Culminate, Column.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- 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,]
- countess n.
- The wife of an earl in the British peerage, or of a count in the Continental nobility; also, a lady possessed of the same dignity in her own right. See the Note under Count. [F. comtesse. See Count a nobleman.]
- revere v. t.
- To regard with reverence, or profound respect and affection, mingled with awe or fear; to venerate; to reverence; to honor in estimation. [L. revereri; pref. re- re- + vereri to fear, perh. akin to E. wary: cf. F. révérer.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems on various subjects, religious and moral, Project Gutenberg ebook #409; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Phillis Wheatley, On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #409, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wheatley-poems/on-the-death-of-the-rev-mr-george-whitefield-1770.html, id L25921.
Form and metre
On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. 1770 is 47 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 51% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AA--BBCCDDEEEFFGGHHIIJJ------KK--LL--MM--NNOOPP throneA · unknownA · tongue · throng · flow'dB · glow'dB · refin'dC · mindC · deploreD · moreD · flightE · heightE · sightE · wayF · dayF · criesG · skiesG · lightH · nightH · dwellI · excellI · divineJ · shineJ · receive · give · throng · hung · good · food · streamK · themeK · said · laid · youL · dueL · blood · god · revereM · sincereM · mourn · return · deathN · breathN · skiesO · riseO · trustP · dustP
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 |
|---|---|---|
| HAIL, happy saint, on thine immortal throne, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Possest of glory, life, and bliss unknown; | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| We hear no more the music of thy tongue, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy wonted auditories cease to throng. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘··· |
| Thy sermons in unequall'd accents flow'd, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And ev'ry bosom with devotion glow'd; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Thou didst in strains of eloquence refin'd | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Inflame the heart, and captivate the mind. | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Unhappy we the setting sun deplore, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| So glorious once, but ah! it shines no more. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Behold the prophet in his tow'ring flight! | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| He leaves the earth for heav'n's unmeasur'd height, | 10 | ·········· |
| And worlds unknown receive him from our sight. | 10 | ··˘/˘/··/· |
| There Whitefield wings with rapid course his way, | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| And sails to Zion through vast seas of day. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy pray'rs, great saint, and thine incessant cries | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Have pierc'd the bosom of thy native skies. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thou moon hast seen, and all the stars of light, | 10 | ·········· |
| How he has wrestled with his God by night. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He pray'd that grace in ev'ry heart might dwell, | 10 | ·········· |
| He long'd to see America excell; | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| He charg'd its youth that ev'ry grace divine | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Should with full lustre in their conduct shine; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| That Saviour, which his soul did first receive, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| The greatest gift that ev'n a God can give, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He freely offer'd to the num'rous throng, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| That on his lips with list'ning pleasure hung. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "Take him, ye wretched, for your only good, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| "Take him ye starving sinners, for your food; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| "Ye thirsty, come to this life-giving stream, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| "Ye preachers, take him for your joyful theme; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| "Take him my dear Americans, he said, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| "Be your complaints on his kind bosom laid: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| "Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| "Impartial Saviour is his title due: | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Wash'd in the fountain of redeeming blood, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| "You shall be sons, and kings, and priests to God." | 10 | ·········· |
| Great Countess, we Americans revere | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Thy name, and mingle in thy grief sincere; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| New England deeply feels, the Orphans mourn, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Their more than father will no more return. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But, though arrested by the hand of death, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Whitefield no more exerts his lab'ring breath, | 10 | /···˘/···· |
| Yet let us view him in th' eternal skies, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Let ev'ry heart to this bright vision rise; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| While the tomb safe retains its sacred trust, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Till life divine re-animates his dust. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
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.