This is an analysis of the poem Looking Unto Jesus that begins with:

By various maxims, forms and rules,
That pass for wisdom in the schools,... 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: aabb bbcc ddee ffbb aagg bbff bbhh ffXa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110010111 11110001 11110001 11110101 11010111 11110101 01111101 01011101 11110101 10010111 10010101 01110101 01011111 11010111 01010101 11010101 01010111 01111011 10111101 11001101 010101001 11111101 11110101 11011001 11110101 110101001 01011101 11011111 111101011 10010111 10001101 01111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 138
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of Looking Unto Jesus;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by John Newton