In this poem the speaker paints him or herself as a martyr for lost souls through the use of hyperbole. These souls reside at “round earth’s imagined corners,” imagination belonging to the realm of sleep and dreams and implying their not being awake to the reality of their situation. The speaker implores God to “let them sleep,” and instead allow him or her to “mourn a space” instead. Referring to the quantity of souls as “numberless infinities” dramatizes the sacrifice the speaker volunteers to make.
After outlining “all whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies, / Despair, law, chance hath slain” the speaker states that “above all these my sins abound.” The reader is not privy to any catalogue of the speaker’s sins or misdeeds so this statement cannot be substantiated. Also, the speaker’s “sins abound” and would require “abundance of [God’s] grace.” Both terms are derived from the Latin “abundare” meaning “to overflow.” This word choice serves to characterize the speaker’s sins as so bad that they are commensurate with God’s grace. Up until this point in the poem, the speaker refers to him or herself as separate from the souls.
However, he or she writes “’Tis late to ask abundance of Thy grace, / When we are there,” (italics mine) as if for all his or her bravery in stepping forward as martyr, he or she is still afraid of facing God alone.
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