Analysis of The Bitter Waters
John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)
Beside the gospel pool
Appointed for the poor;
From year to year, my helpless soul
Has waited for a cure.
How often have I seen
The healing waters move;
And others, round me, stepping in
Their efficacy prove.
But my complaints remain,
I feel the very same;
As full of guilt, and fear, and pain.
As when at first I came.
O would the Lord appear
My malady to heal;
He knows how long I've languished here;
And what distress I feel.
How often have I thought
Why should I longer lie?
Surely the mercy I have sought
Is not for such as I.
But whither can I go?
There is no other pool
Where streams of sovereign virtue flow
To make a sinner whole.
Here then, from day to day,
I'll wait, and hope, and try;
Can Jesus hear a sinner pray,
Yet suffer him to die?
No: he is full of grace;
He never will permit
A soul, that fain would see his face,
To perish at his feet.
Scheme | AXBX XCXC DEDE XFXF GHGH IAIB JHJH KXKX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (63%) |
Metre | 010101 010101 11111101 110101 110111 010101 01011100 11001 110101 110101 11110101 111111 110101 110011 11111101 010111 110111 111101 10010111 111111 110111 111101 11110101 110101 111111 110101 11010101 110111 111111 110101 01111111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 841 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 82 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 101 Views
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