Analysis of Sonnet To Henry Cowper, Esq.

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Cowper, whose silver voice, tasked sometimes hard,
Legends prolix delivers in the ears
(Attentive when thou read'st) of England's peers,
Let verse at length yield thee thy just reward.

Thou wast not heard with drowsy disregard,
Expending late on all that length of plea
Thy generous powers, but silence honoured thee,
Mute as e'er gazed on orator or bard.

Thou art not voice alone, but hast beside
Both heart and head; and couldst with music sweet
Of attic phrase and senatorial tone,
Like thy renowned forefathers, far and wide
Thy fame diffuse, praised not for utterance meet
Of others' speech, but magic of thy own.


Scheme ABBX ACCA DEFDEF
Poetic Form
Metre 1011011011 101010001 01011111101 1111111101 111111001 101111111 11001011011 11101110011 1111011101 1101011101 1101001001 110110101 11011111001 1101110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 614
Words 107
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 164
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
100

William Cowper

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

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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