Analysis of Olney Hymn 63: Not Of Works
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Grace, triumphant in the throne,
Scorns a rival, reigns alone;
Come and bow beneath her sway;
Cast your idol works away!
Works of man, when made his plea,
Never shall accepted be;
Fruits of pride (vainglorious worm!)
Are the best he can perform.
Self, the god his soul adores,
Influences all his powers;
Jesus is a slighted name,
Self-advancement all his aim:
But when God the Judge shall come,
To pronounce the final doom,
Then for rocks and hills to hide
All his works and all his pride!
Still the boasting heart replies,
What the worthy and the wise,
Friends to temperance and peace,
Have not these a righteousness?
Banish every vain pretence
Built on human excellence;
Perish everything in man,
But the grace that never can.
Scheme | AABBCCXX DXEEXXFF GGXXDXHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010001 1010101 1010101 1110101 1111111 1010101 11111 1011101 1011101 1001110 1010101 1010111 1110111 1010101 1110111 1110111 1010101 1010001 1110001 1110100 1010011 1110100 101001 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 736 |
Words | 130 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 118 Views
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"Olney Hymn 63: Not Of Works" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39998/olney-hymn-63%3A-not-of-works>.
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