Analysis of Hymn XXIII: Extended on a Cursed Tree
John Wesley 1703 (Epworth, Lincolnshire) – 1791 (London)
Extended on a cursed tree,
Besmeared with dust, and sweat, and blood,
See there, the king of glory see!
Sinks and expires the Son of God.
Who, who, my Saviour, this hath done?
Who could thy sacred body wound?
No guilt thy spotless heart hath known,
No guile hath in thy lips been found.
I, I alone, have done the deed!
'Tis I thy sacred flesh have torn;
My sins have caused thee, Lord, to bleed,
Pointed the nail, and fixed the thorn.
The burden, for me to sustain
Too great, on thee, my Lord, was laid;
To heal me, thou hast borne my pain;
To bless me, thou a curse wast made.
In the devouring lion's teeth,
Torn, and forsook of all, I lay;
Thou sprang'st into the jaws of death,
From death to save the helpless prey.
Saviour how shall I proclaim?
How pay the mighty debt I owe?
Let all I have, and all I am,
Ceaseless to all thy glory show.
Too much to thee I cannot give;
Too much I cannot do for thee;
Let all thy love, and all thy grief,
Graven on my heart for ever be!
The meek, the still, the lowly mind,
O may I learn from thee, my God,
And love, with softest pity joined,
For those that trample on thy blood!
Still let thy tears, thy groans, thy sighs,
O'erflow my eyes, and heave my breast,
Till loose from flesh and earth I rise,
And ever in thy bosom rest.
Scheme | ABAC XDXD EFEF GHGH XIXI XJXJ XAXA XCXB KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (78%) |
Metre | 0101011 1110101 11011101 100100111 1111111 11110101 11110111 11101111 11011101 11110111 11111111 10010101 01011101 11111111 11111111 11110111 000100101 10011111 111010111 11110101 111101 11010111 11110111 10111101 11111101 11110111 11110111 101111101 01010101 11111111 01110101 11110111 11111111 1110111 11110111 01001101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,249 |
Words | 253 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 106 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 126 Views
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"Hymn XXIII: Extended on a Cursed Tree" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24173/hymn-xxiii%3A-extended-on-a-cursed-tree>.
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