Analysis of Why Art Thou Thus Cast Down, My Heart?
Hans Sachs 1494 (Nuremberg) – 1576 (Nuremberg)
Why art thou thus cast down, my heart?
Why troubled, why dost mourn apart,
O'er nought but earthly wealth?
Trust in thy God, be not afraid,
He is thy Friend who all things made.
Dost think thy prayers He doth not heed?
He knows full well what thou dost need,
And heaven and earth are His;
My Father and my God, who still
Is with my soul in every ill.
Since Thou my God and Father art,
I know Thy faithful loving heart
Will ne'er forget Thy child;
See I am poor, I am but dust,
On earth is none whom I can trust.
The rich man in his wealth confides,
But in my God my trust abides;
Then laugh ye as ye will,
I hold this fast that He hath taught,--
Who trusts in God shall want for nought.
Yes, Lord, Thou art as rich to-day
As Thou hast been and shalt be aye,
I rest on Thee alone;
Thy riches to my soul be given,
And 't is enough for earth and heaven.
What here may shine I all resign,
If the eternal crown be mine,
That through Thy bitter death
Thou gainedst, O Lord Christ, for me--
For this, for this, I cry to Thee!
All wealth, all glories, here below,
The best that this world can bestow,
Silver or gold or lands,
But for a little time is given,
And helps us not to enter heaven.
I thank Thee, Christ, Eternal Lord,
That Thou hast taught me by Thy word
To know this truth and Thee;
O grant me also steadfastness
Thy heavenly kingdom not to miss.
Praise, honour, thanks, to Thee be brought,
For all things in and for me wrought
By Thy great mercy, Christ.
This one thing only still I pray,
Oh cast me ne'er from Thee away
Scheme | AAXBB CCXDD AAXEE FFDGA HXXII JJXKK LLXIIXXKXX GGXHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11111111 11011101 1011101 10111101 11111111 11111111 11111111 0100111 11001111 111101001 11110101 11110101 110111 11111111 11111111 01101101 10111101 111111 11111111 11011111 11111111 11110111 111101 110111110 0110111010 11111101 10010111 111101 1111111 11111111 11110101 01111101 101111 110101110 011111010 11110101 11111111 111101 1111010 110010111 1111111 11100111 111101 11110111 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,488 |
Words | 308 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 5 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 145 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:33 min read
- 105 Views
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"Why Art Thou Thus Cast Down, My Heart?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/16805/why-art-thou-thus-cast-down%2C-my-heart%3F>.
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