Analysis of Dark Hours: The Drunkard's Mother
Janet Hamilton 1795 (Scotland) – 1873
Dark hours of tearless, sleepless grief,
Of woe, denied the soft relief
Of tears, to soothe the burning smart
That throbs and festers in my heart.
Oft has this grief my soul o'erspread,
Like funeral pall above the dead.
Ah, me! beneath the coffin-lid
Of murdered hopes for ever hid,
My promised joys of love and trust
With them lie mouldering in the dust.
Ah! not in sentimental strain
Of love-sick maid and sighing swain
I sing, who, crossed in hapless love,
The tender anguish deeply prove-
Nor that fierce grief when loss of fame,
Of wealth, of power, the baffled aim
Of worldly schemes, sends to the heart
Keen disappointment's venom'd dart.
Is such thy grief? you ask.-Ah, no!
A darker, deeper, deadlier woe
Is mine. Within its poisonous folds
My writhing heart a serpent holds;
I vainly struggle in the toils,
More closely wind the crushing coils.
No hand but His, to whom is given
All power in earth, all power in heaven,
The hideous reptile can unwind,
My crushed and broken heart upbind.
Lord, speak with power, I Thee implore,
As when, by lone Gennesaret's shore,
As God, Thou gave the high command,
That legion fiends might not withstand.
Oh, speak the words of power again,
All power, all words but Thine are vain;
This demoniac, fiercely driven,
Assaulting man, defying heaven,
'Twere joy ineffable, complete,
To see him sitting at Thy feet,
Renewed in heart, in mind restored,
Oh, speak the word; oh, save him, Lord!
Scheme | AABBBCDDEEFFGHIIBBJJKKLLMMNBOOPPQFMMRRSS |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (35%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11011101 11010101 11110101 1101011 1111111 110010101 11010101 11011101 11011101 1111001 1100101 11110101 11110101 01010101 11111111 111100101 11011101 1111 11111111 010101001 110111001 11010101 11010001 11010101 111111110 11001110010 010010101 1101011 111101101 111111 11110101 11011101 110111001 110111111 111010 010101010 11010001 11110111 01010101 11011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,399 |
Words | 253 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 250 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 84 Views
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"Dark Hours: The Drunkard's Mother" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43046/dark-hours%3A-the-drunkard%27s-mother>.
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