To Eliza by George Moses Horton: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem To Eliza that begins with:

Eliza, tell thy lover why
Or what induced thee to deceive me? ... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aaaa baba cdcd aaaadX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01011101 110110011 1110111 110111011 01011111 111111011 1111111 011101011 01011101 111101110 1111111 110111010 01011101 111101011 1111101 010111011 11110010 1010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 157
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 21
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; thee, i are repeated.

    The author used the same word eliza at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines thee is repeated).

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of To Eliza;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by George Moses Horton

Poems about...
✕