Analysis of Psalm 49
Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)
The rich sinner's death, and the saint's resurrection.
Why do the proud insult the poor,
And boast the large estates they have?
How vain are riches to secure
Their haughty owners from the grave!
They can't redeem one hour from death,
With all the wealth in which they trust;
Nor give a dying brother breath,
When God commands him down to dust.
There the dark earth and dismal shade
Shall clasp their naked bodies round;
That flesh, so delicately fed,
Lies cold and moulders in the ground.
Like thoughtless sheep the sinner dies,
Laid in the grave for worms to eat:
The saints shall in the morning rise,
And find th' oppressor at their feet.
His honors perish in the dust,
And pomp and beauty, birth and blood:
That glorious day exalts the just
To full dominion o'er the proud.
My Savior shall my life restore,
And raise me from my dark abode;
My flesh and soul shall part no more,
But dwell for ever near my God.
Scheme | X XXXX ABAB XCXC DEDE BXBX FXFX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 0111001010 11010101 01010111 11110101 11010101 110111011 11010111 11010101 11011111 10110101 11110101 11110001 1101001 11010101 10011111 01100101 0111010111 11010001 01010101 110010101 110101001 11011101 01111101 11011111 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 896 |
Words | 170 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 102 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 67 Views
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