This is an analysis of the poem Mater Dolorosa that begins with:

Who is this that sits by the way, by the wild wayside,
In a rent stained raiment, the robe of a cast-off bride,... 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: aabbcc ddXbee ffccee gghhii aaaajj iibbaa cbceecc aahhff cchhii kkbbff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,7,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1001110110111 0011100100111 0010011100111 00110100100111 101001101001101 110011110101 001111101011101 1100100101111 00111110100110 1111101111011 00111101001011 111010111010011 00111001101011 011101001001001 10100101101011 1011101101111 1111111111111 1010010100101 1111011001011 101101011011101 111001100001001 0110100100111 101011001001011 10100101010101 111110111111 1011100100111 01101100111111 00100100110111 10111101101111 1101100111101 0010101111111 00101001011111 0111101101011 1110100100111 10110101111111 11111000100101 01101101110111 111001110100101 1 101111100111 101101101001001 1110111101111 11001011101001 11100111001111 110100101111 11101001011001 111010110011001 111110101101 1100100101111 1100110110111 10111001101001 011001011011101 1011101110111 111110111000 110010101011 110011100001 100101111101 110110110111 1110100110101 011010111101001 1010110110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 353
  • Average number of words per stanza: 72
  • Amount of lines: 61
  • Average number of symbols per line: 57 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; with, in, of, upon, whose, her, and, veins, dead, blood, their, children, thy, to are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words in, and are repeated.

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

  • summary of Mater Dolorosa;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Algernon Charles Swinburne