Analysis of The H. Communion
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
Not in rich furniture, or fine array,
Nor in a wedge of gold,
Thou, who from me wast sold,
To me dost now thy self convey;
For so thou should'st without me still have been,
Leaving within me sin:
But by the way of nourishment and strength
Thou creep'st into my breast;
Making thy way my rest,
And thy small quantities my length;
Which spread their forces into every part,
Meeting sin's force and art.
Yet can these not get over to my soul,
Leaping the wall that parts
Our souls, and fleshly hearts;
But as th'outworks, they may control
My rebel-flesh, and carrying thy name,
Affright both sin and shame.
Only thy grace, which with these elements comes,
Knoweth the ready way,
And hath the privy key,
Op'ning the soul's most subtle rooms;
While those to spirits refin'd, at door attend
Dispatches from their friend.
Give me my captive soul, or take
My body also thither,
Another lift like this will make
Them both to be together.
Before that sin turn'd flesh into stone,
And all our lump to leaven,
A fervent sigh might well have blown
Our innocent earth to heaven.
For sure when Adam did not know
To sin, or sin to smother;
He might to heav'n from Paradise go,
As from one room t'another.
Thou hast restor'd to us this ease
By this thy heav'nly blood;
Which I can go to, when I please,
And leave th'earth to their food.
Scheme | ABBACC DEEDFF GHHGII XAXXJJ KAKL MNMN OLOL PXPX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 1011001101 100111 111111 11111101 11111011111 100111 1101110001 1110111 101111 01110011 11110011001 101101 1111110111 100111 101011 1111101 1101010011 11101 10111111001 10101 010101 11011101 11110011101 010111 11110111 110101 01011111 1111010 011111011 01101110 01011111 101001110 11110111 1111110 11111101 11111010 11011111 11111 11111111 01111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,314 |
Words | 246 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 128 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 151 Views
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"The H. Communion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15394/the-h.-communion>.
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