Analysis of Psalm 114
Christopher Smart 1722 (Shipbourne) – 1771 (King's Bench Prison)
When Israel came from Egypt’s coast,
And Goshen’s marshy plains,
And Jacob with his joyful host
From servitude and chains;
Then was it seen how much the Jews
Were holy in his sight,
And God did Israel’s kingdom choose
To manifest his might.
The sea beheld it, and with dread
Retreated to make way;
And Jordan to his fountain head
Ran backwards in dismay.
The mountains, like the rams that bound,
Exulted on their base;
Like lambs the little hills around
Skipt lightly from their place.
What is the cause, thou mighty sea,
That thou thyself should shun;
And Jordan, what is come to thee,
That thou should backward run?
Ye mountains that ye leaped so high
From off the solid rock,
Ye hills that ye should gambols try,
Like firstlings of the flock?
Earth, from the center to the sod
His fearful presence hail
The presence of Jeshurun’s God,
In whom our arms prevail.
Who beds of rocks in pools to stand
Can by his word compel,
And from the veiny flint command
The fountain and the well.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN OPOP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 11001111 01101 01011101 11001 11111101 010011 0111101 11011 0111011 010111 01011101 110001 01010111 010111 11010101 110111 11011101 11111 01011111 111101 11011111 110101 1111111 11101 11010101 110101 010111 0110101 11110111 111101 0101101 010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,016 |
Words | 181 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 108 Views
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"Psalm 114" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6109/psalm-114>.
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