Analysis of Olney Hymn 54: Love Constraining To Obedience
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright:
And what she has she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.
How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress;
I toll'd the precept to obey,
But toil'd without success.
Then, to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within,
I feel I hate it too.
Then all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son,
I freely choose His ways.
'What shall I do,' was then the word,
'That I may worthier grow?'
'What shall I render to the Lord?'
Is my inquiry now.
To see the law by Christ fulfilled
And hear His pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.
Scheme | XAXA BCBC DADA EFEF AXAX AGAG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 11110101 11011 0111101 111101 11010111 010001 1101101 110101 11011101 111111 111111001 111111 11110101 010011 11010001 110111 11111101 1111001 11110101 110101 11011101 0111001 10010101 010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 712 |
Words | 141 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 90 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 85 Views
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"Olney Hymn 54: Love Constraining To Obedience" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39987/olney-hymn-54%3A-love-constraining-to-obedience>.
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