The Analysis – Amazing Grace

The Analysis – Amazing Grace Kiel Carino ENG 125 Professor Olabisi Adenekan October 29, 2012 The Analysis – Amazing Grace The poetry “Amazing Grace” by John Newton is one of the most famous poems ever written and composed. “Amazing Grace” has been particularly influential and has affected lives since it was written. The reasons why “Amazing Grace” is influential are for the same reasons why I found this poem very interesting and engaging. The literary elements that attributed to the poem’s quality and importance are its form, content, and tone.

These elements are what make “Amazing Grace” such an important and significant piece of poetry in history. The form of the poem “Amazing Grace” is different from other literature readings from the book. “Amazing Grace” is a special type of literature; a poem in a form of a song. “A hymn is a lyric poem or sacred song which is written in praise to a deity or spirit” (Wheeler, 2012). This type of literary form is appealing to read and hear. The poem comes to life as it is being played.

This type of literary form has an advantage over other types due to the poem is being composed specifically to be heard, not read. The contents of “Amazing Grace” are overwhelmingly powerful. In the first paragraph, John Newton used words to describe who he was and how a certain sound changed his life. “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, / That saved a wretch like me! / I once was lost but now am found, / Was blind, but now I see. ” (cited in Clugston, 2010). In this paragraph, Newton used words such a wretch to describe himself.

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He also stated that he was lost, but the sweet sound helped him and guided him to see, which to me meant that he began to differentiate between right and wrong. In the fourth paragraph, John Newton once again used strong words to captivate its audience by letting the readers know where he stands with his faith. “The lord has promised good to me; / His word hope secures; / He will my shield and portion be, / As long as life endures” (cited in Clugston, 2010). Newton stated in this paragraph that he will maintain his faith with the Lord.

The Lord promised him good things and he will be eternally grateful. I believe that this poem is a short autobiography of John Newton and how his life was changed forever. The contents of this poem are very strong and as a person of faith, reading a poem of this caliber strengthened by beliefs. The contents kept me attached and encouraged me to keep reading in order to find out more about John Newton’s life and how he was spiritually saved. The tone of “Amazing Grace” was very slow and methodical. As stated earlier, I believe this poem is a short autobiography of the author and it came from the heart.

The author seemed as if he was pouring his heart out as he wrote this poem. “Through many dangers, toils, and snares / I have already come; / ‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, / and grace will lead me home” (cited in Clugston, 2010). In this passage, he stated that he has been through many trials in his life, but he has overcome all of this through his faith and this faith of his will assist in overcoming what trials lie ahead. After reading this poem, I listed to the audio version and the audio version enhanced its meaning.

The slow and sad tone of this poem graciously depicted John Newton’s struggles, prior to being saved spiritually. The poem “Amazing Grace” by John Newton is one of the most famous poems ever written and composed. “Amazing Grace” has been particularly influential and has affected lives since it was written. The reasons why “Amazing Grace” is influential are for the same reasons why I found this poem very interesting and engaging. The literary elements that attributed to the poem’s quality and importance are its form, content, and tone.

These elements are what make “Amazing Grace” such an important and significant piece of poetry in history. By combining the form, contents, and the tone, John Newton beautifully created a masterpiece that will continuously affect people for years to come. Reference: Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Wheeler, D. L. K. (2012). Literary terms and definition. Retrieved on October 25, 2012 from http://web. cn. edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_H. html

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