A Ballad by John Gay: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem A Ballad that begins with:

I.
'Twas when the seas were roaring... 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: abcbcdede Xfdfdghgh Xfifigjgj XfgfgfkfkXabibibcbc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,9,9,19,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1 1101010 010101 0101010 110101 11001010 110101 0111011 1101001 1 1111110 1111001 1111010 111101 1111010 111101 1111010 010111 1 0101010 110001 1101010 010011 1111011 111101 1101010 111111 1 1111110 110101 1101010 1100101 1101010 110101 01010010 110101 1 1101010 111101 10011010 110001 11001110 010111 1101010 110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 234
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 45
  • Average number of symbols per line: 25 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; thou is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word why is repeated.

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

  • summary of A Ballad;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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