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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE BOHEMIAN HYMN by RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: IN MANY FORMS WE TRY / TO UTTER GOD'S INFINITY
Last Line: NOR HYMN, NOR PRAYER, NOR CHURCH.
Subject(s): GOD;

In many forms we try
To utter God's infinity,
But the boundless hath no form,
And the Universal Friend
Doth as far transcend
An angel as a worm.
The great Idea baffles wit,
Language falters under it,
It leaves the learned in the lurch;
No art, nor power, nor toil can find
The measure of the eternal Mind,
Nor hymn, nor prayer, nor church.



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