Analysis of The Bibliomaniac's Prayer
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
Keep me, I pray, in wisdom's way
That I may truths eternal seek;
I need protecting care to-day,--
My purse is light, my flesh is weak.
So banish from my erring heart
All baleful appetites and hints
Of Satan's fascinating art,
Of first editions, and of prints.
Direct me in some godly walk
Which leads away from bookish strife,
That I with pious deed and talk
May extra-illustrate my life.
But if, O Lord, it pleaseth Thee
To keep me in temptation's way,
I humbly ask that I may be
Most notably beset to-day;
Let my temptation be a book,
Which I shall purchase, hold, and keep,
Whereon when other men shall look,
They 'll wail to know I got it cheap.
Oh, let it such a volume be
As in rare copperplates abounds,
Large paper, clean, and fair to see,
Uncut, unique, unknown to Lowndes.
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFEFGAGAHIHIGJGK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011 11110101 11010111 11111111 11011101 1101001 111001 11010011 01101101 11011101 11110101 1101011 1111111 111011 11011111 11000111 11010101 11110101 1110111 111111111 11110101 101101 11010111 10101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 852 |
Words | 149 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 599 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 146 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 09, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 142 Views
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"The Bibliomaniac's Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13051/the-bibliomaniac%27s-prayer>.
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