Analysis of A Prayer for a Mother's Birthday

Henry Van Dyke 1852 (Germantown, Pennsylvania) – 1933 (Princeton, New Jersey)



Lord Jesus, Thou hast known
A mother's love and tender care:
And Thou wilt hear, while for my own
Mother most dear I make this birthday prayer.

Protect her life, I pray,
Who gave the gift of life to me;
And may she know, from day to day,
The deepening glow of Life that comes from Thee.

As once upon her breast
Fearless and well content I lay,
So let her heart, on Thee at rest,
Feel fears depart and troubles fade away.

Her every wish fulfill;
And even if Thou must refuse
In anything, let Thy wise will
A comfort bring such as kind mothers use.

Ah, hold her by the hand,
As once her hand held mine;
And though she may not understand
Life's winding way, lead her in peace divine.

I cannot pay my debt
For all the love that she has given;
But Thou, love's Lord, wilt not forget
Her due reward,--bless her in earth and heaven.


Scheme ABAB CDCD ECEC FXFX GHGH IJIJ
Poetic Form Quatrain  (83%)
Metre 110111 01010101 01111111 101111111 010111 11011111 01111111 01001111111 110101 10011011 11011111 1101010101 0100101 01011101 0101111 0101111101 110101 110111 0111101 1101100101 110111 110111110 11111101 01011001010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 810
Words 164
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 106
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

50 sec read
176

Henry Van Dyke

Henry Jackson van Dyke was an American author, educator, and clergyman. more…

All Henry Van Dyke poems | Henry Van Dyke Books

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