Analyzing poem?

Question

By Night when Others Soundly Slept

By night when others soundly slep
And hath at once both ease and Rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.
I sought him whom my Soul did Love,
With tears I sought him earnestly.
He bow'd his ear down from Above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.
My hungry Soul he fill'd with Good;
He in his Bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washt in his blood,
And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.
What to my Saviour shall I give
Who freely hath done this for me?
I'll serve him here whilst I shall live
And Loue him to Eternity.

Answer 1

A good Christian poem. Probably written in the 19th century or early 20th century. I don't know who wrote it. It might possibly have been written earlier than the 19th century because of the use of capitalized nouns like Rest, Soul, Love, Bottle, Doubts, and the use of the word "whilst" which is really "while" in modern language for us, along wtih "washt" (washed) and "banisht" (banished). The speaker in the poem is a Christian, probably British or with British influence judging by the spelling of Savior as "Saviour." The subject of the poem is "prayer" and "how God or the Savior answers prayer." The speaker is already a devout Christian, and this poem describes a spiritual experience of lying in bed to pray "and so to lie I found it best" so as not to disturb others in the house who were sleeping. This may be another indication that it was written in the 19th century or earlier, as more often than not, more than one person shared a bed (several siblings at once, sometimes). The speaker is reverential toward God and Jesus Christ/the Savior and shows gratitude for having his or her "hungry soul" filled with "Good" and taking away the pain of his/her tears by putting them in a Bottle (meant to be a caring action of giving the speaker a place to put his/her pain). The speaker ends the poem with a question of what can he/she do to give the Savior for freely taking his/her pains away through "his blood" and replacing "Doubts and fears" with peace and good, then ends it with a goal to "serve him here whilst I shall live and love him to Eternity." This might be the type of poem included in Christian readers for children or teenagers to learn and recite. Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Stop being lazy and do your own homework! You've classed this as a University + question and i only go to a college, yet i can analyze that poem quite easily; you should be able to yourself- you shouldn't have to get others to do it for you.

Answer 3

It has an ABAB rhyming scheme, and is about Christianity (I think), tone positive, iambic pentameter - which makes it sound kind of royal and gives it rhythm...