Upon The Whipping Of The Top

John Bunyan 1628 (Elstow, Bedfordshire) – 1688 (London)



Tis with the whip the boy sets up the top,
The whip makes it run round upon its toe;
The whip makes it hither and thither hop:
'Tis with the whip the top is made to go.

Comparison.

Our legalist is like unto this top,
Without a whip he doth not duty do;
Let Moses whip him, he will skip and hop;
Forbear to whip, he'll neither stand nor go.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

21 sec read
408

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB AXAB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 339
Words 72
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 4

John Bunyan

John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, who is well known for his book The Pilgrim's Progress. more…

All John Bunyan poems | John Bunyan Books

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