Analysis of Time How Short
John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)
Time, with an unwearied hand,
Pushes round the seasons past,
And in life's frail glass, the sand
Sinks apace, not long to last:
Many, well as you or I,
Who last year assembled thus;
In their silent graves now lie,
Graves will open soon for us!
Daily sin, and care, and strife,
While the Lord prolongs our breath,
Make it but a dying life,
Or a kind of living death:
Wretched they, and most forlorn,
Who no better portion know;
Better ne'er to have been born,
Than to have our all below.
When constrained to go alone,
Leaving all you love behind;
Ent'ring on a world unknown,
What will then support your mind?
When the Lord his summons sends,
Earthly comforts lose their pow'r;
Honours, riches, kindred, friends,
Cannot cheer a dying hour.
Happy souls who fear the Lord
Time is not too swift for you;
When your Saviour gives the word,
Glad you'll bid the world adieu:
Then he'll wipe away your tears,
Near himself appoint your place;
Swifter fly, ye rolling years,
Lord, we long to see thy face.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKXKX XLXLXMXM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111 1010101 0011101 1011111 1011111 1110101 0110111 1110111 1010101 10101101 1110101 1011101 1010101 1110101 1011111 11110101 1011101 1011101 1110101 1110111 1011101 10101111 110101 10101010 1011101 1111111 111101 1110101 1110111 1010111 1011101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 974 |
Words | 183 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 192 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 70 Views
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