Analysis of A Hymn

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



AFTER READING 'LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT.'

Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For oh, my steps are weak,
And ever as I go,
Some soothing sentence speak;

That I may turn my face
Through doubt's obscurity
Toward thine abiding-place,
E'en tho' I cannot see.

For lo, the way is dark;
Through mist and cloud I grope,
Save for that fitful spark,
The little flame of hope.

Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For fear that I may fall;
I know not where to go
Unless I hear thy call.

My fainting soul doth yearn
For thy green hills afar;
So let thy mercy burn--
My greater, guiding star!


Scheme x Abab cdcd efef Agag hihi
Poetic Form
Metre 10101101 110101 111111 010111 110101 111111 110100 0110101 1111101 110111 110111 111101 010111 110101 111111 111111 011111 110111 111101 111101 110101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 546
Words 108
Sentences 6
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 70
Words per stanza (avg) 18
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
83

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

All Paul Laurence Dunbar poems | Paul Laurence Dunbar Books

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