This is an analysis of the poem George Macdonald that begins with:

I HEARD him preach in Oxford years ago,
A snowy-haired and tender-faced apostle.... 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: abaXXcXcdbdbefef
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111010001 01011101010 1101010101 110001 11010101001 1101110111 0111110100 110111 1001000101 1101111101 0110110101 111100 1101000101 1001010101 1001110101 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 605
  • Average number of words per stanza: 111
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (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 is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of George Macdonald;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Katharine Lee Bates