Prayer, in the Prospect of Death by Robert Burns
The speaker addresses an unknown, almighty cause who inspires both hope and fear and before whom he may soon have to appear. He confesses that he has strayed into forbidden paths, as his conscience strongly tells him. He asks the divine power to remember that he was created with wild, powerful passions whose tempting influence has often led him astray. For faults arising from human weakness or frailty, he begs that they be hidden in darkness. Even for sins committed knowingly, he can offer no defence except his trust that the being he calls All-Good delights in forgiveness.
By Robert Burns · First published 1786 · Genre: Religious Poetry, Prayer, Devotional Poetry · 178 words
First lines
O Thou unknown, Almighty Cause / Of all my hope and fear! / In whose dread presence, ere an hour, / Perhaps I must appear!
If I have wander'd in those paths / Of life I ought to shun, / As something, loudly, in my breast, / Remonstrates I have done;
Thou know'st that Thou hast formed me / With passions wild and strong; / And list'ning to their witching voice / Has often led me wrong.
Where human weakness has come short, / Or frailty stept aside, / Do Thou, All-Good-for such Thou art- / In shades of darkness hide.
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Genres
- Religious Poetry — The poem directly addresses an Almighty Creator, seeks divine mercy, and reflects on sin, forgiveness, and judgment.
- Prayer — Its first-person supplicatory form asks God to conceal the speaker's failings and forgive deliberate wrongdoing.
- Devotional Poetry — The work is an intimate act of spiritual reflection centered on the speaker's relationship with God.
- Meditative Poetry — It contemplates mortality, the prospect of imminent death, moral failure, and the condition of the soul.
Tags
prayer · religious poetry · devotional lyric · deathbed meditation · mortality · divine judgment · God as almighty cause · unknown deity · hope and fear · confession of sin · repentance · forgiveness
What this Textopian page supports
Prayer, in the Prospect of Death is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1786 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1786 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Religious Poetry, Prayer, Devotional Poetry, Meditative Poetry, Confessional Poetry
- Length: 178 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Prayer, in the Prospect of Death by Robert Burns
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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