A Prayer by Lord Alfred Douglas: poem analysis

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

Often the western wind has sung to me,
There have been voices in the streams and meres,... 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: aXaB abXB cbcB XbaB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1001011101 11010001110 11001111101 1111110111 0111011111 10111011111 11110111011 1111110111 1101010111 10010011011 1101110101 1111110111 1011011000 110110011 1101111101 1111110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 180
  • Average number of words per stanza: 35
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9

  • 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; and, me are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same words ears, eyes at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Lord Alfred Douglas

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