Analysis of Psalm 49 part 1
Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)
v.6-14
C. M.
Pride and death; or, The vanity of life and riches.
Why doth the man of riches grow
To insolence and pride,
To see his wealth and honors flow
With every rising tide?
[Why doth he treat the poor with scorn,
Made of the self-same clay,
And boast as though his flesh was born
Of better dust than they?]
Not all his treasures can procure
His soul a short reprieve,
Redeem from death one guilty hour,
Or make his brother live.
[Life is a blessing can't be sold,
The ransom is too high;
Justice will ne'er be bribed with gold,
That man may never die.]
He sees the brutish and the wise,
The tim'rous and the brave,
Quit their possessions, close their eyes,
And hasten to the grave.
Yet 'tis his inward thought and pride,-
My house shall ever stand
And that my name may long abide,
I'll give it to my land."
Vain are his thoughts, his hopes are lost,
How soon his memory dies!
His name is written in the dust
Where his own carcass lies.
This is the folly of their way;
And yet their sons, as vain,
Approve the words their fathers say,
And act their works again.
Men void of wisdom and of grace,
If honor raise them high,
Live like the beast, a thoughtless race,
And like the beast they die.
[Laid in the grave like silly sheep,
Death feeds upon them there,
Till the last trumpet break their sleep
In terror and despair.]
Scheme | XXX ABAB CDCD XXXX EFEF GHGH BIBI XGXG DXDX JFJF KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1 11 1011010011010 11011101 110001 11110101 1100101 11110111 110111 01111111 110111 11110101 110101 011111010 111101 11010111 010111 10111111 111101 11010001 01001 11010111 010101 11110101 111101 01111101 111111 11111111 1111001 11110001 111101 11010111 011111 01011101 011101 11110011 110111 11010101 010111 10011101 110111 10110111 010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,298 |
Words | 261 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 43 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 93 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 40 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Psalm 49 part 1" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19771/psalm-49-part-1>.
Discuss this Isaac Watts poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In