Analysis of Whilst Shepherds Watch'd

Nahum Tate 1652 (Dublin) – 1715 (The Mint)



Whilst Shepherds watch'd their flocks by night,
    All seated on the ground,
  The Angel of the Lord came down,
    And glory shone around.
  Fear not, said he, for mighty dread
    Had seized their troubled mind,
  Glad tidings of great joy I bring
    To you and all mankind.
  To you in David's town this day
  Is born of David's line
  A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord;
  And this shall be the sign.
  The heavenly Babe you there shall find,
  To human view display'd,
  All meanly wrapt in swaddling bands
  And in a manger laid.
  Thus spake the Seraph, and forthwith
  Appeared a heavenly throng
  Of Angels praising God, and thus
    Address'd their joyful song:
  All glory be to God on high,
    And to the earth be peace,
  Good-will henceforth from Heav'n to men
  Begin and never cease.
          Hallelujah.


Scheme ABCBDEFEGHIHEJKJLMNMOPQPR
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11011111 110101 01010111 010101 11111101 111101 11011111 110111 11010111 111101 0111101 011101 010011111 110101 111011 000101 1101011 0101001 11010101 011101 11011111 010111 11111111 010101 010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 809
Words 140
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 25
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 592
Words per stanza (avg) 138
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

43 sec read
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Nahum Tate

Nahum Tate was an Irish poet, hymnist and lyricist, who became England's poet laureate in 1692. more…

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