Analysis of Abide With Me
Henry Francis Lyte 1793 (Ednam) – 1847 (Nice)
Abide with us: for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent. -- Luke xxiv.29
Abide with me! Fast falls the Eventide;
The darkness thickens. Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away:
Change and decay in all around I see.
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwellst with thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free, --
Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings;
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners and thus bide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth did smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!
I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the Tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me!
I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? where grave thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold then thy cross before my closing eyes;
Speak through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and Earth's vain shadows flee!
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
Scheme | X AABB AXBB AABB CCBB DDBB EEBB XXBB FFBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111111011000111111 01111101 0101011101 1101010101 1101010111 1111111101 1111110101 1001010111 111110111 1011110101 1111110101 010010101 1111010111 1101010111 1101110011 11110111001 1111001111 1111010111 010100011 1111111111 1101110111 111101001010 1111110110 111110111 110110111 1111111111 1111011100 1111111100 1101110111 1111011101 1101011101 1010101111 0101110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,492 |
Words | 284 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 126 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 484 Views
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"Abide With Me" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17362/abide-with-me>.
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