Analysis of The Love of the World Reproved: or, Hypocrisy Detected
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Thus says the prophet of the Turk;
Good musselman, abstain from pork!
There is a part in every swine
No friend or follower of mine
May taste, whate'er his inclination,
On pain of excommunication.
Such Mahomet's mysterious charge,
And thus he left the point at large.
Had he the sinful part expressed,
They might with safety eat the rest;
But for one piece they thought it hard
And set their wit at work to find
What joint the prophet had in mind.
Much controversy straight arose,
These choose the back, the belly those;
By some 'tis confidently said
He meant not to forbid the head,
While others at that doctrine rail,
And piously prefer the tail.
Thus, conscience freed from every clog,
Mahometans eat up the hog.
You laugh! - 'tis well, - the tale applied
May make you laugh on t'other side.
Renounce the world, the preacher cries; -
We do, - a multitude replies,
While one as innocent regards
A snug and friendly game at cards;
And one, whatever you may say,
Can see no evil in a play;
Some love a concert or a race,
And others, shooting and the chase.
Reviled and loved, renounced and followed,
Thus bit by bit the world is swallowed;
Each thinks his neighbour makes too free,
Yet likes a slice as well as he,
With sophistry their sauce they sweeten,
Till quite from tail to snout 'tis eaten.
Scheme | XXAABBCCDDXEE FFGGHHII JJKKLLMMNNOOPPBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 11000111 110101001 11110011 11101010 1110010 1101001 01110111 11010101 11110101 11111111 01111111 11010101 1100101 11010101 11110001 11110101 11011101 01000101 110111001 11101 11110101 111111101 01010101 1101001 11110001 01010111 0110111 11110001 11010101 01010001 010101010 111101110 1111111 11011111 1111110 111111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,268 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 8, 16 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 336 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 79 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 50 Views
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"The Love of the World Reproved: or, Hypocrisy Detected" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/40155/the-love-of-the-world-reproved%3A-or%2C-hypocrisy-detected>.
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