Analysis of When Rising from The Bed of Death

Joseph Addison 1672 (Milston) – 1719 (Holland House, London)



When rising from the bed of death,
O’erwhelmed with guilt and fear,
I see my Maker face to face,
O how shall I appear?

If yet, while pardon may be found,
And mercy may be sought,
My heart with inward horror shrinks,
And trembles at the thought;

When Thou, O Lord, shalt stand disclosed
In majesty severe,
And sit in judgment on my soul,
O how shall I appear?

But Thou hast told the troubled mind
Who does her sins lament,
The timely tribute of her tears
Shall endless woe prevent.

Then see the sorrow of my heart,
Ere yet it be too late;
And hear my Savior’s dying groans,
To give those sorrows weight.

For never shall my soul despair
Her pardon to procure,
Who knows Thine only Son has died
To make her pardon sure.


Scheme xaxA xbxb xaxA xcxc xdxd xexe
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11010111 11101 11110111 111101 11110111 010111 11110101 01101 11111101 010001 01010111 111101 11110101 110101 01010101 110101 11010111 111111 01110101 111101 11011101 010101 11110111 110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 728
Words 139
Sentences 6
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 93
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
68

Joseph Addison

Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. more…

All Joseph Addison poems | Joseph Addison Books

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