Analysis of A Hymn To God The Father

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
         Which was my sin, though it were done before?
     Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
         And do run still, though still I do deplore?
             When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
                 For I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
         Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
     Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
       A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
           When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
               For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
       My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
   But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
       Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
           And, having done that, thou hast done;
               I fear no more.


Scheme ababAB ababAB ababab
Poetic Form
Metre 1101111101 1111110101 1101111111 0111111101 11111111 1111 1101111111 1011011111 1101111111 0111110001 11111111 1111 11011111111 1111110101 1111111111 111111001 01011111 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 848
Words 146
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 178
Words per stanza (avg) 48
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

44 sec read
273

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

All John Donne poems | John Donne Books

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