Analysis of The Relapse
Henry Vaughan 1621 (Brecknockshire) – 1695
My God, how gracious art thou! I had slipt
Almost to hell,
And on the verge of that dark, dreadful pit
Did hear them yell,
But O thy love! thy rich, almighty love
That sav'd my soul,
And checkt their fury, when I saw them move,
And heard them howl;
O my sole comfort, take no more these ways,
This hideous path,
And I will mend my own without delays,
Cease thou thy wrath!
I have deserv'd a thick, Egyptian damp,
Dark as my deeds,
Should mist within me, and put out that lamp
Thy spirit feeds;
A darting conscience full of stabs and fears;
No shade but Yew,
Sullen, and sad eclipses, cloudy spheres,
These are my due.
But he that with his blood, (a price too dear,)
My scores did pay,
Bid me, by virtue from him, challenge here
The brightest day;
Sweet, downy thoughts; soft lily-shades; calm streams;
Joys full and true;
Fresh, spicy mornings; and eternal beams
These are his due.
Scheme | ABABCDEFGHGHIJIJKLKAMNOAPLPA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011111 111 0101111101 1111 1111110101 1111 0111011111 0111 1111011111 11001 0111110101 1111 1101010101 1111 1101101111 1101 0101011101 1111 1001010101 1111 1111110111 1111 1111011101 0101 1101110111 1101 1101000101 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 889 |
Words | 168 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 28 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 671 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 165 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 90 Views
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"The Relapse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18454/the-relapse>.
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