Analysis of Spacious Firmament On High, The
Joseph Addison 1672 (Milston) – 1719 (Holland House, London)
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame
Their great Original proclaim.
Th’unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator’s powers display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty Hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
While all the stars that round her burn
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though in solemn silence all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid the radiant orbs be found?
In reason’s ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
Forever singing as they shine,
“The hand that made us is divine.”
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEFFGGHH IIJJKKLL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010111 110101001 010100101 11010001 111111 110101001 010011001 01110101 11010101 01110101 010101001 01010101 11011101 01010011 01010111 01011111 11010101 110101001 1111111 010100111 01011101 010101001 01010111 01111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 840 |
Words | 149 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 218 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 114 Views
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