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
- 42 Views
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