Analysis of On The Reed (From The Greek)

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



I was of late a barren plant,
Useless, insignificant,
Nor fig, nor grape, nor apple bore,
A native of the marshy shore;
But, gather'd for poetic use,
And plunged into a sable juice,
Of which my modicum I sip
With narrow mouth and slender lip,
At once, although by nature dumb,
All eloquent I have become,
And speak with fluency untired,
As if by Phoebus' self inspired.


Scheme ABCCDDEEFFAG
Poetic Form
Metre 11110101 100100 11111101 01010101 11010101 01010101 11110011 11010101 1111101 11001101 0111001 111101010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 366
Words 69
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 285
Words per stanza (avg) 67
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

21 sec read
344

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 Reed (From The Greek)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40064/on-the-reed-%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.
    3
    days
    17
    hours
    31
    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?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "There Will Come Soft Rain"?
    A Rainer Maria Rilke
    B Percy Bysshe Shelley
    C Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    D Sara Teasdale