Analysis of Olney Hymn 1: Walking With God

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Oh! for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and his word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void,
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return!
Sweet the messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made thee mourn
And drove thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate'er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne,
And worship only thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.


Scheme abcD exex fgfg xhxh ijij abcD
Poetic Form Quatrain  (50%)
Metre 11010111 0101001 01110101 111101 11010011 111101 11010101 110011 110101101 1111001 11111101 011101 01110101 1010011 11011111 011111 01010111 101101 11111111 010101 11111111 100111 11011101 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 730
Words 144
Sentences 13
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 93
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

43 sec read
112

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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