This is an analysis of the poem On An Old Roundel that begins with:

Death, from thy rigour a voice appealed,
And men still hear what the sweet cry saith,... 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 XXX Xbab X cdcD dcXXcdcD
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,3,4,1,4,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101100101 111110111 100101111 1 10100101100 101011101010 0100100100 1001001100 0101001001 011111101 1 1 1001001001110 111011100101 011100111010 1001 11110011101 111101111010 11110100101 111100101010 11011100111 1110111111000 1001
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 125
  • Average number of words per stanza: 24
  • Amount of lines: 23
  • 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.

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

  • summary of On An Old Roundel;
  • 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