This is an analysis of the poem The Request that begins with:

I'AVE often wish'd to love; what shall I do?
Me still the cruel boy does spare;... 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: abbaccdd addaddee fggfhhcc eeeeggii hcchXXbb djjddXaa akkabbdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 10101011111 11010111 11010111 1011110101 1111111 0111010101 11111100 110101110101 1111011101 111110010 11010101 1111010101 010111111 0111000101 11010101 111101011011 01011111010 00111101 11010101 11010011010 111100111 11010100101 11110111 010111010111 1111111101 11110100 100010101 110110010 11011111 1001000101 1110101010 1101010111000 0101110111 11110111 01110101 1101110101 11011011 11010111100 110011111 11111111101 1101110101 10101101 10010011 1111110111 11011001 01110000100 11110111 1011001111101 11111010111 11010101 10011111 11110101001 10011111 1111010101 10111101 110111011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 342
  • Average number of words per stanza: 61
  • Amount of lines: 56
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Request;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Abraham Cowley