Analysis of Sighs And Groans
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
O do not use me
After my sins! look not on my dessert,
But on your glory! Then you will reform
And not refuse me: for you only art
The mighty God, but I a silly worm;
O do not bruise me!
O do not urge me!
For what account can your ill steward make?
I have abused your stock, destroyed your woods,
Sucked all your storehouses: my head did ache,
Till it found out how to consume your goods:
O do not scourge me!
O do not blind me!
I have deserved that an Egyptian night
Should thicken all my powers; because my lust
Has still sewed fig-leaves to exclude your light:
But I am frailty, and already dust;
O do not grind me!
O do not fill me
With the turned vial of your bitter wrath!
For you have other vessels full of blood,
A part whereof my Savior emptied hath,
Even unto death: since he died for my good,
O do not kill me!
But O reprieve me!
For you have life and death at your command;
You are both Judge and Savior, feast and rod,
Cordial and Corrosive: put not your hand
Into the bitter box; but O my God,
My God, relieve me!
Scheme | A X X X X A A B C B C A A D E D E A A F X F X A A G H G H A |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (27%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 11111 1011111101 1111011101 0101111101 0101110101 11111 11111 1101111101 1101110111 111101111 1111110111 11111 11111 1101110101 11011100111 1111110111 1111000101 11111 11111 1011011101 1111010111 011110101 10101111111 11111 11011 1111011101 1111010101 1000101111 0101011111 11011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,302 |
Words | 210 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 30 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 26 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 7 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 79 Views
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