Analysis of Belshazzar
John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)
Poor sinners! little do they think
With whom they have to do!
But stand securely on the brink
Of everlasting woe.
Belshazzar thus, profanely bold,
The Lord of hosts defied;
But vengeance soon his boasts controlled,
And humbled all his pride.
He saw a hand upon the wall
And trembled on his throne
Which wrote his sudden dreadful fall
In characters unknown.
Why should he tremble at the view
Of what he could not read?
Foreboding conscience quickly knew
His ruin was decreed.
See him o'erwhelmed with deep distress!
His eyes with anguish roll;
His looks, and loosened joints, express
The terrors of his soul.
His pomp and music, guests and wine,
No more delight afford;
O sinner, ere this case be thine,
Begin to seek the Lord.
The law like this hand-writing stands,
And speaks the wrath of God;
But Jesus answers its demands,
And cancels it with blood.
Scheme | ABAX CDCD EFEF BXBX GHGH IJIJ KXKX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (57%) |
Metre | 11010111 111111 11010101 10101 1111 011101 11011101 010111 11010101 010111 11110101 010001 11110101 111111 01010101 110101 1111101 111101 11010101 010111 11010101 110101 11011111 011101 01111101 010111 11010101 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 839 |
Words | 152 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 42 Views
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"Belshazzar" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23925/belshazzar>.
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