Analysis of Upon The Skilfull Player Of An Instrument
John Bunyan 1628 (Elstow, Bedfordshire) – 1688 (London)
He that can play well on an instrument,
Will take the ear, and captivate the mind
With mirth or sadness; for that it is bent
Thereto, as music in it place doth find.
But if one hears that hath therein no skill,
(As often music lights of such a chance)
Of its brave notes they soon be weary will:
And there are some can neither sing nor dance.
Unto him that thus skilfully doth play,
God doth compare a gospel-minister,
That rightly preacheth, and doth godly pray,
Applying truly what doth thence infer.
This man, whether of wrath or grace he preach,
So skilfully doth handle every word;
And by his saying doth the heart so reach,
That it doth joy or sigh before the Lord.
But some there be, which, as the brute, doth lie
Under the Word, without the least advance
Godward; such do despise the ministry;
They weep not at it, neither to it dance.
Scheme | XAXABCBC DEDEFXFXXCXC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 1111111100 110101001 1111011111 111001111 1111110111 1101011101 1111111101 0111110111 10111111 1101010100 110101101 0101011101 1110111111 111101001 0111010111 1111110101 1111110111 1001010101 111010100 1111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 843 |
Words | 161 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 12 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 329 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 79 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 61 Views
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"Upon The Skilfull Player Of An Instrument" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22179/upon-the-skilfull-player-of-an-instrument>.
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