Analysis of Hymn To God's Power

James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)



Hail! Power Divine, who by thy sole command,
From the dark empty space,
Made the broad sea and solid land
Smile with a heavenly grace.

Made the high mountain and firm rock,
Where bleating cattle stray;
And the strong, stately, spreading oak,
That intercepts the day.

The rolling planets thou madest move,
By thy effective will;
And the revolving globes above
Their destined cours fulfil.

His mighty power, ye thunders, praise,
As through the heavens ye roll;
And his great name, ye lightnings, blaze,
Unto the distant pole.

Ye seas, in your eternal roar,
His sacred praise proclaim;
While the inactive sluggish shore
Re-echoes to the same.

Ye howling winds, howl out his praise,
And make the forests bow;
While through the air, the earth, and seas,
His solemn praise ye blow.

O yon high harmonious spheres,
Your powerful mover sing;
To him your circling course that steers,
Your tuneful praises bring.

Ungrateful mortals, catch the sound,
And in your numerous lays,
To all the listening world around,
The God of nature praise.


Scheme ABAB XCXC XDXD EFEF GHGH EXXX IJIJ KEKE
Poetic Form Quatrain  (88%)
Metre 11001111101 101101 10110101 1101001 10110011 11101 00110101 10101 01010111 110101 00010101 11011 110101101 1101011 01111101 100101 11010101 110101 10010101 110101 11011111 010101 11010101 110111 11101001 1100101 111100111 110101 01010101 0011001 110100101 011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,004
Words 175
Sentences 10
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 101
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

52 sec read
61

James Thomson

James Thomson, who wrote under the pseudonym Bysshe Vanolis, was a Scottish Victorian-era poet famous primarily for the long poem The City of Dreadful Night, an expression of bleak pessimism in a dehumanized, uncaring urban environment. more…

All James Thomson poems | James Thomson Books

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