Analysis of Faith
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
Lord, how couldst thou so much appease
Thy wrath for sin, as when man's sight was dim,
And could see little, to regard his ease,
And bring by Faith all things to him?
Hungry I was, and had no meat:
I did conceit a most delicious feast;
I had it straight, and did as truly eat,
As ever did a welcome guest.
There is a rare outlandish root,
Which when I could not get, I thought it here:
That apprehension cur'd so well my foot,
That I can walk to heav'n well near.
I owed thousands and much more.
I did believe that I did nothing owe,
And liv'd accordingly; my creditor
Believes so too, and lets me go.
Faith makes me any thing, or all
That I believe is in the sacred story:
And where sin placeth me in Adam's fall,
Faith sets me higher in his glory.
If I go lower in the book,
What can be lower than the common manger?
Faith puts me there with him, who sweetly took
Our flesh and frailty, death and danger.
If bliss had lien in art or strength,
None but the wise or strong had gained it:
Where now by Faith all arms are of a length;
One size doth all conditions fit.
A peasant may believe as much
As a great Clerk, and reach the highest stature.
Thus dost thou make proud knowledge bend and crouch
While grace fills up uneven nature.
When creatures had no real light
Inherent in them, thou didst make the sun
Impute a lustre, and allow them bright;
And in this show what Christ hath done.
That which before was darkned clean
With bushy groves, pricking the looker's eye,
Vanisht away, when Faith did change the scene:
And then appear'd a glorious sky.
What though my body run to dust?
Faith cleaves unto it, counting ev'ry grain
With an exact and most particular trust,
Reserving all for flesh again.
Scheme | ABAB CXCX XXXX XDED FGFG HEHE IJIJ XEXE KLKL MNMN OXOX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (73%) |
Metre | 11111101 1111111111 0111010111 01111111 10110111 1101010101 1111011101 11010101 11010101 1111111111 101011111 11111111 1110011 1101111101 0101001100 01110111 11110111 11011001010 011110101 111100110 11110001 11110101010 1111111101 1010101010 11110111 110111111 1111111101 11110101 01010111 10110101010 1111110101 111101010 1101111 0100111101 0101000111 00111111 1101111 11011011 101111101 010101001 11110111 111011011 11010101001 01011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,687 |
Words | 327 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 120 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 151 Views
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"Faith" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15348/faith>.
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