Analysis of The Christian Philosopher's A.B.C.
Alone and hopeless in a world of woe,
By friends deceived, and spurned by many a foe,
Can man exist, and think, and act, nor feel
Despondency o'er all his being steal?
E'en faith in God and His all-gracious plan
Fails when we lack man's sympathy for man.
'Give us,' we cry, 'friends faithful and sincere—
Happy our present, and our future clear ;
In peace, oh God, our cups with plenty fill,
Join earth to heaven, all sin and sorrow kill;
Kill want and woe, then we shall gladly own
Love rules the earth, and God doth reign alone—
Mercy His crown, and Righteousness His throne!'
Nay, speak not so, it ill becomes a clod
Of lowly earth to dictate to his God !
Put down rebellion in thee, and no more
Question those gifts God poureth from his store.
Remember whence thou art, and whither bent ;
Say not 'tis evil which the Lord hath sent
To serve His gracious ends. He shall hold sway
Until each soul shall love him and obey.
Virtue brings peace. Seek her and thou shall find
What arms 'gainst griefs the philosophic mind.
Xantippe might scold, yet Socrates pursued,
Year in, year out, his philosophic mood—
Zealous for God, and for the cause of good.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFFGGHHGGIIGGGGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101000111 11010111001 1101010111 01001011101 11101011101 1111110011 1111110001 101010010101 01111011101 11110110101 1101111101 1101011101 1011010011 1111110101 1101101111 1101001011 101111111 0101110101 1111010111 1111011111 0111111001 1011100111 111100101 101111001 101110101 1011010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,138 |
Words | 214 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 26 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 886 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 213 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 92 Views
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"The Christian Philosopher's A.B.C." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23731/the-christian-philosopher%27s-a.b.c.>.
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