Analysis of Charitas Nimia; or, The Dear Bargain
Lord, what is man? why should he cost Thee
So dear? what had his ruin lost Thee?
Lord, what is man, that Thou hast over-bought
So much a thing of naught?
Love is too kind, I see, and can
Make but a simple merchant-man.
'Twas for such sorry merchandise
Bold painters have put out his eyes.
Alas, sweet Lord! what were't to Thee
If there were no such worms as we?
Heav'n ne'er the less still Heav'n would be,
Should mankind dwell
In the deep hell.
What have his woes to do with Thee?
Let him go weep
O'er his own wounds;
Seraphims will not sleep,
Nor spheres let fall their faithful rounds.
Still would the youthful spirits sing,
And still Thy spacious palace ring;
Still would those beauteous ministers of light
Burn all as bright,
And bow their flaming heads before Thee;
Still thrones and dominations would adore Thee.
Still would those ever-wakeful sons of fire
Keep warm Thy praise
Both nights and days,
And teach Thy loved name to their noble lyre.
Let froward dust then do its kind,
And give itself for sport to the proud wind.
Why should a piece of peevish clay plead shares
In the eternity of Thy old cares?
Why shouldst Thou bow Thy awful breast to see
What mine own madnesses have done with me?
Should not the king still keep his throne
Because some desperate fool's undone?
Or will the world's illustrious eyes
Weep for every worm that dies?
Will the gallant sun
E'er the less glorious run?
Will he hang down his golden head,
Or e'er the sooner seek his western bed,
Because of some foolish fly
Grows wanton, and will die?
If I were lost in misery,
What was it to Thy heaven and Thee?
What was it to Thy precious blood
If my foul heart called for a flood?
What if my faithless soul and I
Would needs fall in
With guilt and sin;
What did the Lamb that He should die?
What did the Lamb that He should need,
When the wolf sins, Himself to bleed?
If my base lust
Bargained with death and well-beseeming dust,
Why should the white
Lamb's bosom write
The purple name
Of my sin's shame?
Why should His unstrained breast make good
My blushes with His own heart-blood?
O my Saviour, make me see
How dearly Thou has paid for me;
That, lost again, my life may prove,
As then in death, so now in love.
Scheme | AAXX BBCC AAADDA EXEX FFGGAAXHHX IIJJAA XKCC KKLLMM AANNMOOMPP QQGGRRXN AAXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111111 111111011 1111111101 110111 11111101 11010101 1111010 11011111 011110111 11011111 11011111 1111 0011 11111111 1111 10111 1111 11111101 11010101 01110101 111110011 1111 011101011 11011011 1111011110 1111 1101 0111111101 1111111 0101111011 1101110111 0001001111 1111110111 11111111 11011111 01110101 110101001 11100111 10101 10011001 11111101 11001011101 0111101 110011 11010100 111111001 11111101 11111101 1111101 1110 1101 11011111 11011111 10110111 1111 10110111 1101 1101 0101 1111 1111111 11011111 111111 11011111 11011111 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,145 |
Words | 416 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 6, 4, 10, 6, 4, 6, 10, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 66 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 12, 2023
- 2:08 min read
- 85 Views
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"Charitas Nimia; or, The Dear Bargain" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30044/charitas-nimia%3B-or%2C-the-dear-bargain>.
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