Analysis of On the Grasshopper (From The Greek)

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Happy songster, perch'd above,
On the summit of the grove,
Whom a dewdrop cheers to sing
With the freedom of a king,
From thy perch survey the fields
Where prolific nature yields
Nough that, willingly as she,
Man surrenders not to thee.
For hostility or hate
None thy pleasures can create.
Thee it satisfies to sing
Sweetly the return of spring,
Herald of the genial hours,
Harming neither herbs nor flowers.
Therefore man thy voice attends
Gladly -- thou and he are friends;
Nor thy never-ceasing strains,
Phoebus or the muse disdains
As too simple or too long,
For themselves inspire the song.
Earth-born, bloodless, undecaying,
Ever singing, sporting, playing
What has nature else to show
Godlike in its kind as thou?


Scheme ABCCDDEEFFCCGGHHIIJJCCKL
Poetic Form
Metre 101101 1010101 101111 1010101 1110101 1010101 1110011 1010111 1010011 1110101 111011 1000111 10101010 10101110 111101 1010111 1110101 1010101 1110111 1010101 11101 10101010 1110111 101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 705
Words 124
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 573
Words per stanza (avg) 122
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
54

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

2 fans

Discuss this William Cowper poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "On the Grasshopper (From The Greek)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40053/on-the-grasshopper-%28from-the-greek%29>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    6
    hours
    0
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which author is considered to be Scotland’s national poet?
    A Danny Boyle
    B Edwin Morgan
    C Robert Louis Stevenson
    D Robert Burns