Analysis of Religion
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
I AM no priest of crooks nor creeds,
For human wants and human needs
Are more to me than prophets' deeds;
And human tears and human cares
Affect me more than human prayers.
Go, cease your wail, lugubrious saint!
You fret high Heaven with your plaint.
Is this the 'Christian's joy' you paint?
Is this the Christian's boasted bliss?
Avails your faith no more than this?
Take up your arms, come out with me,
Let Heav'n alone; humanity
Needs more and Heaven less from thee.
With pity for mankind look 'round;
Help them to rise — and Heaven is found.
Scheme | AAABBCCCDDEEEFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11111111 11010101 11111101 01010101 01111101 111101001 11110111 1101111 1101101 1111111 11111111 11010100 11010111 11011111 111101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 541 |
Words | 102 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 15 |
Lines Amount | 15 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 422 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 100 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
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"Religion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28842/religion>.
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