Analysis of Olney Hymn 61: The Narrow Way
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
What thousands never knew the road!
What thousands hate it when 'tis known!
None but the chosen tribes of God
Will seek or choose it for their own.
A thousand ways in ruin end,
One only leads to joys on high;
By that my willing steps ascend,
Pleased with a journey to the sky.
No more I ask or hope to find
Delight or happiness below;
Sorrow may well possess the mind
That feeds where thorns and thistles grow.
The joy that fades is not for me,
I seek immortal joys above;
There glory without end shall be
The bright reward of faith and love.
Cleave to the world, ye sordid worms,
Contented lick your native dust!
But God shall fight with all his storms,
Against the idol of your trust.
Scheme | XAXA BCBC DEDE FGFG XHXH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11010101 11011111 11010111 11111111 01010101 11011111 11110101 11010101 11111111 01110001 10110101 11110101 01111111 11010101 11001111 01011101 11011101 01011101 11111111 01010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 694 |
Words | 133 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 108 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 36 Views
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"Olney Hymn 61: The Narrow Way" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39996/olney-hymn-61%3A-the-narrow-way>.
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