Analysis of The Holdfast
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
I threatened to observe the strict decree
Of my deare God with all my power and might:
But I was told by one, `It could not be;
Yet I might trust in God to be my light.'
`Then will I trust,' said I, `in Him alone.'
`Nay, ev'n to trust in Him, was also His:
We must confesse that nothing is our own.'
`Then I confesse that He my succour is.'
`But to have nought is ours, not to confesse
That we have nought.' I stood amaz'd at this,
Much troubled, till I heard a friend expresse
That all things were more ours by being His:
What Adam had, and forfeited for all,
Christ keepeth now, Who cannot fail or fall.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD DXDD EE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010101 11111111001 1111111111 1111011111 1111111101 11111011101 1111101101 11111111 1111110111 1111110111 110111011 11101101101 1101010011 111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 613 |
Words | 129 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 2 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 114 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 16, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 55 Views
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"The Holdfast" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15396/the-holdfast>.
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