Analysis of Queen Of Sheba

John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)



From Sheba a distant report
Of Solomon's glory and fame,
Invited the queen to his court,
But all was outdone when she came;
She cried, with a pleasing surprise,
When first she before him appeared,
How much, what I see with my eyes,
Surpasses the rumour I heard!

When once to Jerusalem come,
The treasure and train she had brought;
The wealth she possessed at home,
No longer had place in her thought:
His house, his attendants, his throne,
All struck her with wonder and awe;
The glory of Solomon shone,
In every object she saw.

But Solomon most she admired,
Whose spirit conducted the whole;
His wisdom, which God had inspired,
His bounty and greatness of soul;
Of all the hard questions she put,
A ready solution he showed;
Exceeded her with and her suit,
And more than she asked him bestowed.

Thus I when the gospel proclaimed
The Saviour's great name in my ears,
The wisdom for which he is famed,
The love which to sinners he bears;
I longed, and I was not denied,
That I in his presence might bow;
I saw, and transported I cried,
A greater than Solomon Thou!

My conscience no comfort could find,
By doubt and hard questions opposed;
But He restored peace to my mind,
And answered each doubt I proposed:
Beholding me poor and distressed,
His bounty supplied all my wants;
My prayer could have never expressed
So much as this Solomon grants.

I heard, and was slow to believe,
But now with my eyes I behold,
Much more than my heart could conceive,
Or language could ever have told:
How happy thy servants must be,
Who always before thee appear!
Vouchsafe, Lord, this blessing to me,
I find it is good to be here.


Scheme ABABCXCD XEXEFXFX DGDGXHXH IXIXJKJK LMLMNXNX OPOPQXQX
Poetic Form
Metre 11001001 11001001 01001111 11111111 11101001 11101101 11111111 0100011 11101001 01001111 0110111 11011001 11101011 11011001 01011001 01001011 110011010 11001001 110111010 11001011 11011011 01001011 01001001 01111101 11101001 0111011 01011111 01111011 11011101 11011011 11001011 01011001 11011011 11011001 11011111 01011101 01011001 11001111 11111001 11111001 11011101 11111101 11111101 11011011 11011011 1101101 1111011 11111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,580
Words 297
Sentences 8
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 211
Words per stanza (avg) 49
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

1:29 min read
126

John Newton

Rev Dr John A Newton CBE is a prominent Methodist minister, author, historian and former President of the Methodist Conference. more…

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