This is an analysis of the poem The Orphan Boy's Tale that begins with:

Stay, lady, stay, for mercy's sake,
And hear a helpless orphan's tale,... 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: abab cdcd dede fdfd cgcg dXdd cccX bdbd ccccXdddd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11011101 11010101 11111101 11111111 11110101 11110111 100101111 11111101 11011111 110101001 01010101 11010101 01111101 11110111 10110111 11101101 01010111 110100101 101001101 11010001 11110111 11011111 11110101 11101101 10110111 10011111 11010101 11111101 11111101 10110101 11011111 11001101 10111101 11010111 11110111 01010111 101111001 11110101 11110111 11010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 143
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • 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, my are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Orphan Boy's Tale;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Amelia Opie