To William Lloyd Garrison
CHAMPION of those who groan beneathOppression's iron handIn view of penury, hate, and death,I see thee fearless stand.Still bearing up thy lofty brow,In the steadfast strength of truth,In manhood sealing well the vowAnd promise of thy youth.
Go on, for thou hast chosen well;On in the strength of God!Long as one human heart shall swellBeneath the tyrant's rod.Speak in a slumbering nation's ear,As thou hast ever spoken,Until the dead in sin shall hear,The fetter's link be broken!
I love thee with a brother's love,I feel my pulses thrill,To mark thy spirit soar aboveThe cloud of human ill.My heart hath leaped to answer thine,And echo back thy words,As leaps the warrior's at the shineAnd flash of kindred swords!
They tell me thou art rash and vain,A searcher after fame;That thou art striving but to gainA long-enduring name;That thou hast nerved the Afric's handAnd steeled the Afric's heart,To shake aloft his vengeful brand,And rend his chain apart.
Have I not known thee well, and readThy mighty purpose long?And watched the trials which have madeThy human spirit strong?And shall the slanderer's demon breathAvail with one like me,To dim the sunshine of my faithAnd earnest trust in thee?
Go on, the dagger's point may glareAmid thy pathway's gloom;The fate which sternly threatens thereIs glorious martyrdomThen onward with a martyr's zeal;And wait thy sure rewardWhen man to man no more shall kneel,And God alone be Lord!
Words in this poem
- penury n.
- Absence of resources; want; privation; indigence; extreme poverty; destitution. [L. penuria; cf. Gr. pénurie.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- 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,]
- vengeful a.
- Vindictive; retributive; revengeful.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- 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]
- sternly adv.
- In a stern manner.
- 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.]
- martyrdom n.
- The condition of a martyr; the death of a martyr; the suffering of death on account of adherence to the Christian faith, or to any cause. [Martyr + -dom.]
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To William Lloyd Garrison is in the public domain. This text is taken from Anti-Slavery Poems and Songs of Labor and Reform, Complete Volume III of The Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Project Gutenberg ebook #9580; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Greenleaf Whittier, To William Lloyd Garrison, in Anti-Slavery Poems and Songs of Labor and Reform (1865), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9580, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whittier-anti-slavery/to-william-lloyd-garrison.html, id L24840.
Form and metre
To William Lloyd Garrison is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic 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 -A-ABCBC beneath · handA · death · standA · browB · truthC · vowB · youthC
- 2 ABABCDCD wellA · godB · swellA · rodB · earC · spokenD · hearC · brokenD
- 3 ABABC-C- loveA · thrillB · aboveA · illB · thineC · words · shineC · swords
- 4 ABABCDCD vainA · fameB · gainA · nameB · handC · heartD · brandC · apartD
- 5 -A-A-B-B read · longA · made · strongA · breath · meB · faith · theeB
- 6 ABABCDCD glareA · gloomB · thereA · martyrdomB · zealC · rewardD · kneelC · lordD
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| CHAMPION of those who groan beneath | 8 | /˘······ |
| Oppression's iron hand | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| In view of penury, hate, and death, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I see thee fearless stand. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Still bearing up thy lofty brow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In the steadfast strength of truth, | 7 | ··/···· |
| In manhood sealing well the vow | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| And promise of thy youth. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Go on, for thou hast chosen well; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On in the strength of God! | 6 | ······ |
| Long as one human heart shall swell | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Beneath the tyrant's rod. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Speak in a slumbering nation's ear, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| As thou hast ever spoken, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Until the dead in sin shall hear, | 8 | ········ |
| The fetter's link be broken! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| I love thee with a brother's love, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I feel my pulses thrill, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To mark thy spirit soar above | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The cloud of human ill. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| My heart hath leaped to answer thine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And echo back thy words, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As leaps the warrior's at the shine | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And flash of kindred swords! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They tell me thou art rash and vain, | 8 | ········ |
| A searcher after fame; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That thou art striving but to gain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A long-enduring name; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| That thou hast nerved the Afric's hand | 8 | ········ |
| And steeled the Afric's heart, | 6 | ······ |
| To shake aloft his vengeful brand, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And rend his chain apart. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Have I not known thee well, and read | 8 | ········ |
| Thy mighty purpose long? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And watched the trials which have made | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy human spirit strong? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And shall the slanderer's demon breath | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Avail with one like me, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| To dim the sunshine of my faith | 8 | ···/···· |
| And earnest trust in thee? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Go on, the dagger's point may glare | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Amid thy pathway's gloom; | 6 | ˘/·/·· |
| The fate which sternly threatens there | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Is glorious martyrdom | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Then onward with a martyr's zeal; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And wait thy sure reward | 6 | ····˘/ |
| When man to man no more shall kneel, | 8 | ········ |
| And God alone be Lord! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
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