Analysis of The Perfect Sacrifice

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



I place an offering at thy shrine,
From taint and blemish clear,
Simple and pure in its design,
Of all that I hold dear.

I yield thee back thy gifts again,
Thy gifts which most I prize;
Desirous only to retain
The notice of thine eyes.

But if, by thine adored decree,
That blessing be denied;
Resigned and unreluctant, see
My every wish subside.

Thy will in all things I approve,
Exalted or cast down;
Thy will in every state I love,
And even in thy frown.


Scheme ABAB XCXC DEDE XFXF
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 111100111 110101 10010101 111111 11111101 111111 01010101 010111 11110101 110101 01011 1100101 11011101 010111 110100111 010011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 449
Words 89
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 89
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

26 sec read
346

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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