Analysis of To a Little Girl That Has Told a Lie
Ann Taylor 1782 (Islington) – 1866
AND has my darling told a lie?
Did she forget that GOD was by?
That GOD, who saw the things she did,
From whom no action can be hid;
Did she forget that GOD could see
And hear, wherever she might be?
He made your eyes, and can discern
Whichever way you think to turn;
He made your ears, and he can hear
When you think nobody is near;
In every place, by night or day,
He watches all you do and say.
Oh, how I wish you would but try
To act, as shall not need a lie;
And when you wish a thing to do,
That has been once forbidden you,
Remember that, nor ever dare
To disobey, for GOD is there.
Why should you fear the truth to tell?
Does falsehood ever do so well?
Can you be satisfied to know,
There's something wrong to hide below?
No! let your fault be what it may,
To own it is the happy way.
So long as you your crime conceal,
You cannot light and gladsome feel:
Your little heart will seem oppress'd,
As if a weight were on your breast;
And e'en your mother's eye to meet,
Will tinge your face with shame and heat.
Yes, GOD has made your duty clear,
By every blush, by every fear;
And conscience, like an angel kind,
Keeps watch to bring it to your mind:
Its friendly warnings ever heed,
And neither tell a lie nor need.
Scheme | AABBCC DDXEFF AAGGHH IIJJFF KKLLMM EENNOO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110101 11011111 11110111 11110111 11011111 01010111 11110101 01011111 11110111 111111 010011111 11011101 11111111 11111101 01110111 11111001 01011101 1011111 11110111 1110111 1111011 11011101 11111111 11110101 11111101 1101011 11011101 11010111 011110111 11111101 11111101 1100111001 01011101 11111111 11010101 01010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,223 |
Words | 248 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 155 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 29 Views
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