Analysis of Cock-Crowing
Henry Vaughan 1621 (Brecknockshire) – 1695
Father of lights! what sunny seed,
What glance of day hast Thou confined
Into this bird? To all the breed
This busy ray Thou hast assigned;
Their magnetism works all night,
And dreams of paradise and light.
Their eyes watch for the morning hue;
Their little grain, expelling night,
So shines and sings as if it knew
The path unto the house of light.
It seems their candle, howe'er done,
Was tinned and lighted at the sun.
If such a tincture, such a touch,
So firm a longing can empower,
Shall Thy own image think it much
To watch for Thy appearing hour?
If a mere blast so fill the sail,
Shall not the breath of God prevail?
O Thou immortal Light and Heat!
Whose hand so shines through all this frame
That, by the beauty of the seat,
We plainly see who made the same,
Seeing Thy seed abides in me,
Dwell Thou in it, and I in Thee!
To sleep without Thee is to die;
Yea, 'tis a death partakes of hell:
For where Thou dost not close the eye,
It never opens, I can tell.
In such a dark Egyptian border,
The shades of death dwell, and disorder.
If joys, and hopes, and earnest throes,
And hearts whose pulse beats still for light
Are given to birds, who but Thee knows
A love-sick soul's exalted flight?
Can souls be tracked by any eye
But His who gave them wings to fly?
Only this veil which Thou hast broke,
And must be broken yet in me,
This veil, I say, is all the cloak
And cloud which shadows Thee from me.
This veil Thy full-eyed love denies,
And only gleams and fractions spies.
O take it off! make no delay;
But brush me with Thy light that I
May shine unto a perfect day,
And warm me at Thy glorious eye!
O take it off, or till it flee,
Though with no lily, stay with me!
Scheme | ABABCC DCDCEE FGFGHH IJIJKK LMLMGG NCNCLL OKOKPP QLQLKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111101 11111101 01111101 11011101 1100111 0111001 11110101 11010101 11011111 01100111 11110101 11010101 11010101 110101010 11110111 111101010 10111101 11011101 11010101 11111111 11010101 11011101 10110101 11010101 11011111 1101111 11111101 11010111 010101010 011110010 11010101 01111111 110111111 01110101 11111101 11111111 10111111 01110101 11111101 0111111 11111101 01010101 11111101 11111111 11100011 011111001 11111111 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,638 |
Words | 330 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 161 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:39 min read
- 266 Views
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"Cock-Crowing" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18420/cock-crowing>.
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