Analysis of Olney Hymn 16: The Sower
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Ye sons of earth prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow ground;
The sower is gone forth to sow,
And scatter blessings round.
The seed that finds a stony soil
Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the sower's toil,
Soon wither'd, scorch'd, and dead.
The thorny ground is sure to balk
All hopes of harvest there;
We find a tall and sickly stalk,
But not the fruitful ear.
The beaten path and highway side,
Receive the trust in vain;
The watchful birds the spoil divide,
And pick up all the grain.
But where the Lord of grace and power
Has bless'd the happy field,
How plenteous is the golden store
The deep-wrought furrows yield!
Father of mercies, we have need
Of thy preparing grace;
Let the same Hand that give me seed
Provide a fruitful place!
Scheme | ABAB CXCX DXDX EFEF XGXG HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 11110101 11111 01011111 010101 01110101 110101 111011 110101 01011111 111101 11010101 110101 0101011 010101 01010101 011101 110111010 110101 1110101 01111 10110111 110101 10111111 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 760 |
Words | 140 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 06, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 31 Views
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"Olney Hymn 16: The Sower" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39944/olney-hymn-16%3A-the-sower>.
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