Analysis of Epitaph On Johnson

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Here Johnson lies, a sage by all allowed,
Whom to have bred, may well make England proud;
Whose prose was eloquence, by wisdom taught,
The graceful vehicle of virtuous thought;
Whose verse may claim, grave, masculine and strong,
Superior praise to the mere poet's song;
Who many a noble gift from Heaven possessed,
And faith at last, alone worth all the rest.
O man, immortal by a double prize,
By fame on earth, by glory in the skies!


Scheme AABBCCDDEE
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Etheree  (20%)
Metre 1101011101 1111111101 1111001101 01010011001 1111110001 01001101101 110010111001 0111011101 1101010101 1111110001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 434
Words 80
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 10
Lines Amount 10
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 339
Words per stanza (avg) 78
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

24 sec read
383

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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