Analysis of Olney Hymn 42: Self-Acquaintance
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Dear Lord! accept a sinful heart,
Which of itself complains,
And mourns, with much and frequent smart,
The evil it contains.
There fiery seeds of anger lurk,
Which often hurt my frame;
And wait but for the tempter's work,
To fan them to a flame.
Legality holds out a bribe
To purchase life from Thee;
And Discontent would fain prescribe
How Thou shalt deal with me.
While Unbelief withstands Thy grace,
And puts the mercy by,
Presumption, with a brow of brass,
Says, 'Give me, or I die!'
How eager are my thoughts to roam,
In quest of what they love!
But ah! when duty calls them home,
How heavily they move!
Oh, cleanse me in a Saviour's blood,
Transform me by Thy power,
And make me Thy beloved abode,
And let me roam no more.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF XGXG HXHX XXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 11010101 110101 01110101 010101 110011101 110111 0111011 111101 01001101 110111 00011101 111111 110111 010101 01010111 111111 11011111 011111 11110111 110011 1110011 0111110 01110101 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 736 |
Words | 139 |
Sentences | 10 |
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
- 42 sec read
- 44 Views
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"Olney Hymn 42: Self-Acquaintance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39974/olney-hymn-42%3A-self-acquaintance>.
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