Analysis of The Doubter's Prayer
Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)
Eternal Power, of earth and air!
Unseen, yet seen in all around,
Remote, but dwelling everywhere,
Though silent, heard in every sound.
If e'er thine ear in mercy bent,
When wretched mortals cried to Thee,
And if, indeed, Thy Son was sent,
To save lost sinners such as me:
Then hear me now, while, kneeling here,
I lift to thee my heart and eye,
And all my soul ascends in prayer,
Oh, give me - give me Faith! I cry.
Without some glimmering in my heart,
I could not raise this fervent prayer;
But, oh! a stronger light impart,
And in Thy mercy fix it there.
While Faith is with me, I am blest;
It turns my darkest night to day;
But while I clasp it to my breast,
I often feel it slide away.
Then, cold and dark, my spirit sinks,
To see my light of life depart;
And every fiend of Hell, methinks,
Enjoys the anguish of my heart.
What shall I do, if all my love,
My hopes, my toil, are cast away,
And if there be no God above,
To hear and bless me when I pray?
If this be vain delusion all,
If death be an eternal sleep,
And none can hear my secret call,
Or see the silent tears I weep!
Oh, help me, God! For thou alone
Canst my distracted soul relieve;
Forsake it not: it is thine own,
Though weak, yet longing to believe.
Oh, drive these cruel doubts away;
And make me know, that Thou art God!
A faith, that shines by night and day,
Will lighten every earthly load.
If I believe that Jesus died,
And, waking, rose to reign above;
Then surely Sorrow, Sin, and Pride,
Must yield to Peace, and Hope, and Love.
And all the blessed words He said
Will strength and holy joy impart:
A shield of safety o'er my head,
A spring of comfort in my heart.
Scheme | ABABCDCD XEAE FAFA GHGH IFIF JHJH KLKL MNMN HXHX OJOJ PFPF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010101101 01110101 0111010 110101001 110110101 11010111 01011111 11110111 11111101 11111101 01110101 11111111 011100011 11111101 11010101 00110111 11111111 11110111 11111111 11011101 11011101 11111101 01001111 01010111 11111111 11111101 01111101 11011111 11110101 11110101 01111101 11010111 11111101 11010101 01111111 11110101 11110101 01111111 01111101 110100101 11011101 01011101 11010101 11110101 0101111 11010101 011101011 01110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,614 |
Words | 324 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 194 Views
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"The Doubter's Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3176/the-doubter%27s-prayer>.
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