Analysis of Watching Unto God In The Night Season (2)
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Season of my purest pleasure,
Sealer of observing eyes!
When, in larger, freer measure,
I can commune with the skies;
While, beneath thy shade extended,
Weary man forgets his woes,
I, my daily trouble ended,
Find, in watching, my repose.
Silence all around prevailing,
Nature hushed in slumber sweet,
No rude noise mine ears assailing,
Now my God and I can meet:
Universal nature slumbers,
And my soul partakes the calm,
Breathes her ardour out in numbers,
Plaintive song or lofty psalm.
Now my passion, pure and holy,
Shines and burns without restraint;
Which the day's fatigue and folly
Cause to languish, dim and faint:
Charming hours of relaxation!
How I dread the ascending sun!
Surely, idle conversation
Is an evil matched by none.
Worldly prate and babble hurt me;
Unintelligible prove;
Neither teach me nor divert me;
I have ears for none but love.
Me they rude esteem, and foolish,
Hearing my absurd replies;
I have neither art's fine polish,
Nor the knowledge of the wise.
Simple souls, and unpolluted
By conversing with the great,
Have a mind and taste ill suited
To their dignity and state;
All their talking, reading, writing,
Are but talents misapplied;
Infants' prattle I delight in,
Nothing human choose beside.
'Tis the secret fear of sinning
Checks my tongue, or I should say,
When I see the night beginning,
I am glad of parting day:
Love this gentle admonition
Whispers soft within my breast;
'Choice befits not thy condition,
Acquiescence suits thee best.'
Henceforth, the repose and pleasure
Night affords me I resign;
And thy will shall be the measure,
Wisdom infinite! of mine:
Wishing is but inclination
Quarrelling with thy decrees;
Wayward nature finds the occasion--
'Tis her folly and disease.
Night, with its sublime enjoyments,
Now no longer will I choose;
Nor the day, with its employments,
Irksome as they seem, refuse;
Lessons of a God's inspiring
Neither time nor place impedes;
From our wishing and desiring
Our unhappiness proceeds.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFBXXX GHGHIIII GXGXJBJB CKCKELXL EMEMININ AOAOIPIP QRQRESES |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111010 1010101 10101010 1110101 10111010 1010111 11101010 1010101 10101010 1010101 11111010 1110111 010101 011101 1011010 1011101 11101010 1010101 10101010 1110101 10101010 11100101 1010010 1110111 10101011 010001 10111011 1111111 11101010 1010101 11101110 1010101 10101 1010101 10101110 1110001 11101010 111001 10101010 1010101 10101110 1111111 11101010 1111101 1110010 1010111 10111010 010111 11001010 1011101 01111010 1010011 1011010 11101 101010010 1010001 11101010 1110111 10111010 1011101 10101010 1011101 1101000100 10010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,914 |
Words | 331 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 195 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 74 Views
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"Watching Unto God In The Night Season (2)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40251/watching-unto-god-in-the-night-season-%282%29>.
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