Analysis of Prayer
Henry David Thoreau 1817 (Concord) – 1862 (Concord)
Great God, I ask for no meaner pelf
Than that I may not disappoint myself,
That in my action I may soar as high
As I can now discern with this clear eye.
And next in value, which thy kindness lends,
That I may greatly disappoint my friends,
Howe'er they think or hope that it may be,
They may not dream how thou'st distinguished me.
That my weak hand may equal my firm faith
And my life practice what my tongue saith
That my low conduct may not show
Nor my relenting lines
That I thy purpose did not know
Or overrated thy designs.
Scheme | AAAXBBCC DDEFEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111101 11111011 1011011111 1111011111 0101011101 111100111 1011111111 11111110101 1111110111 011101111 11101111 110101 11110111 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 538 |
Words | 106 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 208 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 75 Views
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"Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17342/prayer>.
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