# VI explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

## What happens

Pharaoh, hardened despite the death of Egypt's firstborn, pursues the fleeing Israelites as they camp by the sea. The Israelites panic and murmur against Moses, but Moses, following God's command, parts the Red Sea. The Egyptians charge into the dry seabed, but God loosens their chariot wheels and the waters return, drowning Pharaoh's army. Miriam leads the women in a triumphant song of deliverance, recalling her earlier joy at saving Moses.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Liberation

Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage through the miraculous parting of the sea.

### Faith and Divine Justice

God fights for Israel, judging Pharaoh's oppression with the destruction of his army.

### Resilience and Sacrifice

Moses' steadfast faith and the people's journey from fear to triumphant praise.

## Character check-ins

### Moses

Leads Israel with faith, parts the Red Sea by God's command, and reassures the fearful people.

### Pharaoh

Blindly pursues Israel after the death of his firstborn, leading his army to destruction in the sea.

### The People

Israelites who panic and murmur against Moses, then witness God's deliverance and sing triumph.

### Miriam

Moses' sister, leads the Hebrew women in song and dance, recalling her childhood joy at saving Moses.

### Egypt

The nation mourns its firstborn; its army is drowned in the sea as God's judgment falls.

## Key lines

> Stand still, said Moses to the fearful throng Whose hearts were fainting in the wild, Stand still.

Moses told the terrified crowd to stop and trust in God's deliverance.

_Moses calls for stillness and faith before the miracle._

> Speak ye unto the people and bid them Forward go; stretch thy hand across the waters And smite them with thy rod.

God commands Moses to tell the people to move forward and strike the sea with his staff.

_God's command to act, not merely wait, for liberation._

> The waves threw back their corpses cold and stark Upon the shore, and the song of Israel’s Triumph was the requiem of their foes.

The sea cast the dead Egyptians onto the beach, and Israel's victory song became the funeral hymn for their enemies.

_The grim aftermath of divine judgment and the triumph of the oppressed._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters/vi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters