Analysis of Dagon Before The Ark

John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)



When first to make my heart his own,
The Lord revealed his mighty grace;
Self reigned, like Dagon, on the throne,
But could not long maintain its place.

It fell, and owned the pow'r divine,
(Grace can with ease the vict'ry gain)
But soon this wretched heart of mine,
Contrived to set it up again.

Again the Lord his name proclaimed,
And brought the hateful idol low;
Then self, like Dagon, broken, maimed,
Seemed to receive a mortal blow.

Yet self is not of life bereft,
Nor ceases to oppose his will;
Though but a maimed stump be left,
'Tis Dagon, 'tis an idol still.

Lord! must I always guilty prove,
And idols in my heart have room?
Oh! let the, fire of heavenly love,
The very slump of self consume.


Scheme ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG XHXH
Poetic Form Quatrain  (80%)
Etheree  (30%)
Metre 11111111 01011101 11110101 11110111 110101101 1111011 11110111 01111101 01011101 01010101 11110101 11010101 11111101 11010111 1101111 11011101 1111101 01001111 1101011001 01011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 696
Words 133
Sentences 9
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 108
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

40 sec read
290

John Newton

Rev Dr John A Newton CBE is a prominent Methodist minister, author, historian and former President of the Methodist Conference. more…

All John Newton poems | John Newton Books

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