Analysis of Olney Hymn 56: Hatred Of Sin

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Holy Lord God! I love Thy truth,
Nor dare Thy least commandment slight;
Yet pierced by sin the serpent's tooth,
I mourn the anguish of the bite.

But though the poison lurks within,
Hope bids me still with patience wait;
Till death shall set me free from sin,
Free from the only thing I hate.

Had I a throne above the rest,
Where angels and archangels dwell,
One sin, unslain, within my breast,
Would make that heaven as dark as hell.

The prisoner sent to breathe fresh air,
And blest with liberty again,
Would mourn were he condemn'd to wear
One link of all his former chain.

But, oh! no foe invades the bliss,
When glory crowns the Christian's head;
One look at Jesus as He is
Will strike all sin forever dead.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGX XHXH
Poetic Form Quatrain  (80%)
Etheree  (30%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 10111111 11110101 11110101 11010101 11010101 11111101 11111111 11010111 11010101 1100101 1110111 111101111 010011111 01110001 11010111 11111101 11110101 1101011 11110111 11110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 719
Words 135
Sentences 8
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 111
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
71

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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