This is an analysis of the poem The Shepherd Piping To The Fishes that begins with:

A Shepherd seeking with his Lass
To shun the Heat of Day;... 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: abaab cdccd aeaae fgffg egeag hehhe gagga giXXi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01010001 010101 11010101 11010101 110101 01011101 110101 11111111 11110011 010111 01011101 100011 10110101 1100100101 111011 11011101 11001 01111111 01010111 101101 11010111 110001 11011111 110100101 1100101 11011101 110011 11010111 11111111 110011 01010001 1100101 10010101 01110101 110111 11011111 010101 11110110 10110010 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 159
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Shepherd Piping To The Fishes;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Anne Kingsmill Finch