Analysis of The dead babe
Last night, as my dear babe lay dead,
In agony I knelt and said:
"0 God! what have I done,
Or in what wise offended Thee,
That Thou should'st take away from me
My little son?
"Upon the thousand useless lives,
Upon the guilt that vaunting thrives,
Thy wrath were better spent!
Why should'st Thou take my little son -
Why should'st Thou vent Thy wrath upon
This innocent?"
Last night, as my dear babe lay dead,
Before mine eyes the vision spread
Of things that might have been:
Licentious riot, cruel strife,
Forgotten prayers, a wasted life
Dark red with sin!
Then, with sweet music in the air,
I saw another vision there:
A Shepherd in whose keep
A little lamb - my little child!
Of worldly wisdom undefiled,
Lay fast asleep!
Last night, as my dear babe lay dead,
In those two messages I read
A wisdom manifest;
And though my arms be childless now,
I am content - to Him I bow
Who knoweth best.
Scheme | Aabccb xxxbxx Aadeed ffgxag Aahiih |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (30%) Etheree (27%) |
Metre | 11111111 01001101 11111 10110101 111110111 1101 01010101 0101111 110101 111111101 111111101 1100 11111111 01110101 111111 01010101 01010101 1111 11110001 11010101 010011 01011101 110101 1101 11111111 01110011 01010 01111101 11101111 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 873 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 91 Views
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