Mr. Edwards and the Spider

In Mr. Edwards and the Spider, there are 5 stanzas each 9 lines long. The rhythms are mainly iambic, and the number of iambs varies with the number of poetic feet in each stanza usually forming a 5-5-4-4-3-5-5-5-6 pattern. (If the lines were center justified, the shape would create an hourglass or spider shape on the page.) Often, Lowell violates the established meter for effect, upending a marching cadence. The rhyme scheme is mainly ABBACCCDD. This intricate structure creates a container for the three prose pieces of Edwards as Lowell often takes lines word for word from Edwards but refashions the words to fit his formal stanzas. For example, take this prose excerpt from Edwards:

A very little thing, a little worm or spider, or some such insect, is able to kill thee. What then canst thou do in the hands of God? It is vain to set the briers and thorns in battle array against glowing flames; the points of thorns, though sharp, do nothing to withstand the fire (Edwards as qtd. in McMahon, C. M. “The Future Punishment of the Wicked Unavoidable and Intolerable.