Analysis of Hymn 48

Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)



The Christian race.

Awake, our souls; away, our fears,
Let every trembling thought begone;
Awake, and run the heav'nly race,
And put a cheerful courage on.

True, 'tis a strait and thorny road,
And mortal spirits tire and faint;
But they forget the mighty God,
That feeds the strength of every saint.

Thee, mighty God! whose matchless power
Is ever new and ever young,
And firm endures, while endless years
Their everlasting circles run.

From thee, the overflowing spring,
Our souls shall drink a fresh supply,
While such as trust their native strength
Shall melt away, and droop, and die.

Swift as an eagle cuts the air,
We'll mount aloft to thine abode
On wings of love our souls shall fly,
Nor tire amidst the heav'nly road.


Scheme A BCAC DEXE XXBC XFXF XDFD
Poetic Form
Metre 0101 0110101101 110010011 0101011 01010101 11010101 010101001 11010101 110111001 11011110 11010101 01011101 1010101 1101001 101110101 11111101 11010101 11110101 11011101 111110111 11001011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 729
Words 132
Sentences 10
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 95
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
96

Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was an English Christian minister (Congregational), hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. He is recognized as the "Godfather of English Hymnody"; many of his hymns remain in use today and have been translated into numerous languages. more…

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