Analysis of Praise and Prayer

Sir William Davenant 1606 (Oxford) – 1668 (London)



PRAISE is devotion fit for mighty minds,
   The diff'ring world's agreeing sacrifice;
Where Heaven divided faiths united finds:
   But Prayer in various discord upward flies.

For Prayer the ocean is where diversely
   Men steer their course, each to a sev'ral coast;
Where all our interests so discordant be
   That half beg winds by which the rest are lost.

By Penitence when we ourselves forsake,
'Tis but in wise design on piteous Heaven;
In Praise we nobly give what God may take,
   And are, without a beggar's blush, forgiven.


Scheme AXAX XXXX BCBC
Poetic Form Quatrain  (33%)
Metre 1101011101 011101010 11001010101 11010010101 11010111 111111011 11101010101 1111110111 111100101 1101011110 0111011111 0101011010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 540
Words 90
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 137
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

28 sec read
107

Sir William Davenant

Sir William Davenant, also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. more…

All Sir William Davenant poems | Sir William Davenant Books

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