Skip to content
Linespedia

Thomas Starr King

By John Greenleaf Whittier

Topics: classic

The great work laid upon his twoscore years     Is done, and well done. If we drop our tears,     Who loved him as few men were ever loved,     We mourn no blighted hope nor broken plan     With him whose life stands rounded and approved     In the full growth and stature of a man.     Mingle, O bells, along the Western slope,     With your deep toll a sound of faith and hope!     Wave cheerily still, O banner, half-way down,     From thousand-masted bay and steepled town!     Let the strong organ with its loftiest swell     Lift the proud sorrow of the land, and tell     That the brave sower saw his ripened grain.     O East and West! O morn and sunset twain     No more forever! has he lived in vain     Who, priest of Freedom, made ye one, and told     Your bridal service from his lips of gold

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"The great work laid upon his twoscore years..."

"Thomas Starr King" is a quintessential example of John Greenleaf Whittier's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:John Greenleaf Whittier

"The great work laid upon his twoscore years..." by John Greenleaf Whittier

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Gallery of sacred pictures manifold,     A minster rich in holy effigies,     And bearing on entablature and frieze     The hieroglyphic oracle"

"Through the long hall the shuttered windows shed     A dubious light on every upturned head;     On locks like those of Absalom the fair,     O"

"At the unveiling of his statue.     Among their graven shapes to whom     Thy civic wreaths belong,     O city of his love, make room     F"

"Thrice welcome from the Land of Flowers     And golden-fruited orange bowers     To this sweet, green-turfed June of ours!     To her who, in o"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Greenleaf Whittier

About John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) was an American Quaker poet and abolitionist whose poems—including "Snow-Bound" and "Barbara Frietchie"—celebrate New England life and moral courage. He was one of the Fireside Poets and a leading voice against slavery.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Gallery of sacred pictures manifold,     A minster..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.