Analysis of An Epitaph

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Here lies one who never drew
Blood himself, yet many slew;
Gave the gun its aim, and figure
Made in field, yet ne'er pulled trigger.
Armed men have gladly made
Him their guide, and him obeyed;
At his signified desire,
Would advance, present, and fire.
Stout he was, and large of limb,
Scores have fled at sight of him;
And to all his fame he rose
Only following his nose.
Neptune was he called; not he
Who controls the boisterous sea.
But of happier command,
Neptune of the furrowed land;
And, your wonder vain to shorten,
Pointer to Sir John Throckmorton.


Scheme AABBCCBBDDEEFFGGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101 1011101 10111010 10111110 111101 1110101 1110010 10110010 1110111 1111111 0111111 1010011 1011111 10101001 1110001 1010101 01101110 101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 547
Words 103
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 18
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 433
Words per stanza (avg) 101
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
89

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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