Analysis of Affliction (IV)
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
Broken in pieces all asunder,
Lord, hunt me not,
A thing forgot,
Once a poor creature, now a wonder,
A wonder tortur'd in the space
Betwixt this world and that of grace.
My thoughts are all a case of knives,
Wounding my heart
With scatter'd smart,
As wat'ring pots give flowers their lives.
Nothing their fury can control,
While they do wound and prick my soul.
All my attendants are at strife,
Quitting their place
Unto my face:
Nothing performs the task of life:
The elements are let loose to fight,
And while I live, try out their right.
Oh help, my God! let not their plot
Kill them and me,
And also thee,
Who art my life: dissolve the knot,
As the sun scatters by his light
All the rebellions of the night.
Then shall those powers, which work for grief,
Enter thy pay,
And day by day
Labour thy praise, and my relief;
With care and courage building me,
Till I reach heav'n, and much more, thee.
Scheme | ABBACC XDDXEE FCCFGG BHHBGG IJJIHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (37%) Tetractys (33%) |
Metre | 100101010 1111 0101 101101010 01010001 01110111 11110111 1011 1101 111111011 10110101 11110111 11010111 1011 1011 10010111 010011111 01111111 11111111 1101 0101 11110101 1011111 10010101 111101111 1011 0111 1110101 11010101 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 896 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 8 |
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) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 122 Views
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