Sir, We Would See Jesus by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Sir, We Would See Jesus that begins with:

We would see Jesus; earth is grand,
Flowing out from her Creator's hand.... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aabbXXaa ccbbbbaa aabbddXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11110101 10100101 11110101 01110111 01010101 110100011 11010111 11110101 11110111 10111111 110101001 11010101 11010101 11010111 11011101 11011101 11110111 10110111 10110101 01010101 11010001 01110101 10110111 00110100
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 292
  • Average number of words per stanza: 52
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

    The author used the same word we at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of Sir, We Would See Jesus;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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