Analysis of The Pulley

George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)



When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blesings standing by;
Let us (said he) pour on him all we can:
Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.

So strength first made a way;
The beauty flow'd, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone of all his treasure
Rest in the bottom lay.

For if I should (said he)
Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.

Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness:
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast.


Scheme ABABA CDCDC EDEDE FGXGF
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Metre 111111 100111101 1111111111 101101011 10101 111101 0101110110 111111101 01010111110 100101 111111 01110101110 1101110111 01010101110 111101 111101 11111100 1111010111 1101111100 111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 703
Words 139
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 137
Words per stanza (avg) 34
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 09, 2023

42 sec read
265

George Herbert

The Very Reverend Honourable George Herbert was an Anglican priest. more…

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