Happy Solitude--Unhappy Men

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



My heart is easy, and my burden light;
I smile, though sad, when thou art in my sight:
The more my woes in secret I deplore,
I taste thy goodness, and I love thee more.

There, while a solemn stillness reigns around,
Faith, love, and hope within my soul abound;
And, while the world suppose me lost in care,
The joys of angels, unperceived, I share.

Thy creatures wrong thee, O thou sovereign good!
Thou art not loved, because not understood;
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of thy smile.

Frail beauty and false honour are adored;
While Thee they scorn, and trifle with thy Word;
Pass, unconcerned, a Saviour's sorrows by;
And hunt their ruin with a zeal to die.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 17, 2023

38 sec read
100

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABB CCDD EEFF XXGG
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 698
Words 128
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

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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