Analysis of The Holdfast

George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)



I threatened to observe the strict decree
Of my deare God with all my power and might:
But I was told by one, `It could not be;
Yet I might trust in God to be my light.'

`Then will I trust,' said I, `in Him alone.'
`Nay, ev'n to trust in Him, was also His:
We must confesse that nothing is our own.'
`Then I confesse that He my succour is.'

`But to have nought is ours, not to confesse
That we have nought.' I stood amaz'd at this,
Much troubled, till I heard a friend expresse
That all things were more ours by being His:

What Adam had, and forfeited for all,
Christ keepeth now, Who cannot fail or fall.


Scheme ABAB CDCD DXDD EE
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010101 11111111001 1111111111 1111011111 1111111101 11111011101 1111101101 11111111 1111110111 1111110111 110111011 11101101101 1101010011 111110111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 613
Words 129
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 2
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 114
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 16, 2023

37 sec read
55

George Herbert

The Very Reverend Honourable George Herbert was an Anglican priest. more…

All George Herbert poems | George Herbert Books

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