Analysis of Preparatory Meditations - First Series: 38
Edward Taylor 1642 (Coventry) – 1729
(I John 2:1. An Advocate with the Father)
Oh! What a thing is man? Lord, who am I?
That Thou shouldest give him law (Oh! golden line)
To regulate his thoughts, words, life thereby;
And judge him wilt thereby too in Thy time.
A court of justice Thou in heaven holdst
To try his case while he's here housed on mold.
How do Thy angels lay before Thine eye
My deeds both white and black I daily do?
How doth Thy court Thou pannel'st there them try?
But flesh complains: 'What right for this? Let's know.
For, right or wrong, I can't appear unto't.
And shall a sentence pass on such a suit?'
Soft; blemish not this golden bench, or place.
Here is no bribe, nor colorings to hide,
Nor pettifogger to befog the case,
But justice hath her glory here well tried.
Her spotless law all spotted cases tends;
Without respect or disrespect them ends.
God's judge himself; and Christ attorney is;
The Holy Ghost registerer is found.
Angels the serjeants are; all creatures kiss
The book, and do as evidences abound.
All cases pass according to pure law,
And in the sentence is no fret nor flaw.
What say'st, my soul? Here all thy deeds are tried.
Is Christ thy advocate to plead thy cause?
Art thou His client? Such shall never slide.
He never lost His case: He pleads such laws
As carry do the same, nor doth refuse
The vilest sinner's case that doth Him choose.
This is His honor, not dishonor: nay,
No habeas corpus gainst His clients came;
For all their fines His purse doth make down pay.
He non-suits Satan's suit or casts the same.
He'll plead thy case, and not accept a fee.
He'll plead
sub forma pauperis
for thee.
My case is bad. Lord, be my advocate.
My sin is red: I'm under God's arrest.
Thou hast the hint of pleading; plead my state.
Although it's bad, Thy plea will make it best.
If Thou wilt plead my case before the king,
I'll wagon-loads of love and glory bring.
Scheme | X AXAXBB ABAXBB CBCBDD XBXBEE BXBXFF GHGHIBCI BBBBJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (24%) |
Metre | 1111001010 1101111111 1111111101 110111111 0111111011 0111010101 1111111111 1111010111 1111011101 111111111 1101111111 11111101101 0101011101 1101110111 11111111 111101 1101010111 0101110101 010110111 1101010101 0101111 100111101 01011100001 1101010111 0001011111 11111111111 1111001111 1111011101 1101111111 1101011101 01111111 1111010101 11001011101 1111111111 111111101 1111010101 11 1101 11 1111111100 1111110101 1101110111 111111111 1111110101 1101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,831 |
Words | 352 |
Sentences | 36 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 179 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 13, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 221 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Preparatory Meditations - First Series: 38" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9807/preparatory-meditations---first-series%3A-38>.
Discuss this Edward Taylor poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In