Meditations Upon A Candle Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABCDEFFEDGGHHIIJJKL MMNNEEOOPPQRSSEETTUU VVWWKKXXYZA2A2JJIIGG B2B2XXC2C2D2E2| Man's like a candle in a candlestick | A |
| Made up of tallow and a little wick | A |
| And as the candle when it is not lighted | B |
| So is he who is in his sins benighted | C |
| Nor can a man his soul with grace inspire | D |
| More than can candles set themselves on fire | E |
| Candles receive their light from what they are not | F |
| Men grace from Him for whom at first they care not | F |
| We manage candles when they take the fire | E |
| God men when he with grace doth them inspire | D |
| And biggest candles give the better light | G |
| As grace on biggest sinners shines most bright | G |
| The candle shines to make another see | H |
| A saint unto his neighbour light should be | H |
| The blinking candle we do much despise | I |
| Saints dim of light are high in no man's eyes | I |
| Again though it may seem to some a riddle | J |
| We use to light our candles at the middle | J |
| True light doth at the candle's end appear | K |
| And grace the heart first reaches by the ear | L |
| But 'tis the wick the fire doth kindle on | M |
| As 'tis the heart that grace first works upon | M |
| Thus both do fasten upon what's the main | N |
| And so their life and vigour do maintain | N |
| The tallow makes the wick yield to the fire | E |
| And sinful flesh doth make the soul desire | E |
| That grace may kindle on it in it burn | O |
| So evil makes the soul from evil turn | O |
| But candles in the wind are apt to flare | P |
| And Christians in a tempest to despair | P |
| The flame also with smoke attended is | Q |
| And in our holy lives there's much amiss | R |
| Sometimes a thief will candle light annoy | S |
| And lusts do seek our graces to destroy | S |
| What brackish is will make a candle sputter | E |
| 'Twixt sin and grace there's oft' a heavy clutter | E |
| Sometimes the light burns dim 'cause of the snuff | T |
| Sometimes it is blown quite out with a puff | T |
| But watchfulness preventeth both these evils | U |
| Keeps candles light and grace in spite of devils | U |
| Nor let not snuffs nor puffs make us to doubt | V |
| Our candles may be lighted though puffed out | V |
| The candle in the night doth all excel | W |
| Nor sun nor moon nor stars then shine so well | W |
| So is the Christian in our hemisphere | K |
| Whose light shows others how their course to steer | K |
| When candles are put out all's in confusion | X |
| Where Christians are not devils make intrusion | X |
| Then happy are they who such candles have | Y |
| All others dwell in darkness and the grave | Z |
| But candles that do blink within the socket | A2 |
| And saints whose eyes are always in their pocket | A2 |
| Are much alike such candles make us fumble | J |
| And at such saints good men and bad do stumble | J |
| Good candles don't offend except sore eyes | I |
| Nor hurt unless it be the silly flies | I |
| Thus none like burning candles in the night | G |
| Nor ought to holy living for delight | G |
| But let us draw towards the candle's end | B2 |
| The fire you see doth wick and tallow spend | B2 |
| As grace man's life until his glass is run | X |
| And so the candle and the man is done | X |
| The man now lays him down upon his bed | C2 |
| The wick yields up its fire and so is dead | C2 |
| The candle now extinct is but the man | D2 |
| By grace mounts up to glory there to stand | E2 |
John Bunyan
(1)
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