Analysis of At the Close of the Year

John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)



Let hearts and tongues unite,
And loud thanksgivings raise:
'Tis duty, mingled with delight,
To sing the Saviour's praise.

To him we owe our breath,
He took us from the womb,
Which else had shut us up in death,
And prov'd an early tomb.

When on the breast we hung,
Our help was in the Lord;
'Twas he first taught our infant tongue
To form the lisping word.

When in our blood we lay,
He would not let us die,
Because his love had fix'd a day
To bring salvation nigh.

In childhood and in youth,
His eye was on us still:
Though strangers to his love and truth,
And prone to cross his will.

And since his name we knew,
How gracious has he been:
What dangers has he led us through,
What mercies have we seen!

Now through another year,
Supported by his care,
We raise our Ebenezer here,
"The Lord has help'd thus far."

Our lot in future years
Unable to foresee,
He kindly, to prevent our fears,
Says, "Leave it all to me."

Yea, Lord, we wish to cast
Our cares upon thy breast!
Help us to praise thee for the past,
And trust thee for the rest.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX FGFG HIHI JXJX XXXX KLKL MNMN
Poetic Form Quatrain  (67%)
Metre 11011 0111 11010101 11011 1111101 111101 11111101 011101 110111 1011001 111110101 11011 1010111 111111 01111101 110101 01001 111111 11011101 011111 011111 110111 11011111 110111 110101 010111 11100101 011111 1010101 010101 110101101 111111 111111 1010111 11111101 011101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,044
Words 206
Sentences 11
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 88
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:02 min read
63

John Newton

Rev Dr John A Newton CBE is a prominent Methodist minister, author, historian and former President of the Methodist Conference. more…

All John Newton poems | John Newton Books

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