Analysis of Olney Hymn 13: The Covenant

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



The Lord proclaims His grace abroad!
'Behold, I change your hearts of stone;
Each shall renounce his idol-god,
And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone.

'My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds
To wash your filthiness away;
Ye shall abhor your former deeds,
And learn my statutes to obey.

'My truth the great design ensures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your God unalterably true.

'Yet not unsought or unimplored,
The plenteous grace I shall confer;
No - your whole hearts shall seek the Lord,
I'll put a praying spirit there.

'From the first breath of life divine
Down to the last expiring hour,
The gracious work shall all be mine,
Begun and ended in my power.'


Scheme ABXB CDCD EFEF AGXX HGHG
Poetic Form Quatrain  (80%)
Etheree  (35%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 01011101 01111111 11011101 01110101 11010101 111101 11011101 01110101 11010101 1110111 11111111 11010001 11111 0111101 11111101 11010101 10111101 110101010 01011111 010100110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 699
Words 126
Sentences 7
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 107
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
61

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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