Analysis of The House of Prayer

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Thy mansion is the Christian's heart,
O Lord, Thy dwelling place secure!
Bid the unruly throng depart,
And leave the consecrated door.

Devoted as it is to Thee,
A thievish swarm frequents the place,
They steal away my hopes from me,
And rob my Saviour of His praise.

There, too, a sharp designing trade
Sin, Satan, and the World maintain;
Nor cease to press me, and persuade
To part with ease, and purchase pain.

I know them, and I hate their din;
And weary of the bustling crowd;
But while their voice is heard within,
I cannot serve Thee as I would.

Oh! for the joy thy presence gives,
What peace shall reign when Thou art there;
Thy presence makes this den of thieves
A calm delightful house of prayer.

And if Thou make Thy temple shine,
Yet self-abased, will I adore;
The gold and silver are not mine;
I give Thee waht was Thine before.


Scheme AXAB CXCX DEDE FXFX XGXG HBHB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (50%)
Metre 1101011 11110101 10010101 0101001 01011111 0111001 11011111 0111111 11010101 11000101 11111001 11110101 11101111 010101001 11111101 11011111 11011101 11111111 11011111 01010111 01111101 1111101 01010111 11111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 862
Words 161
Sentences 10
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 109
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
97

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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