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

At the door of my own little hovel,
Reading a novel I sat;... 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: ababcdcd bebeXbbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1010111010 1001011 111110010 01101011 111010010 0101101 11010110 001001001 1111001 1100101 11101111 11100101 001111100 1100111 1111011111 11001011
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 277
  • Average number of words per stanza: 52
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • 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; i, and are 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 The Nonsense Verse;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Alfred Edward Housman