On The Death Of William Gould by Aogán Ó Rathaille: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem On The Death Of William Gould that begins with:

What is this mist on the fields of Ireland? what is this haze
on the land of Eibhear? what is this grief on the cries of the...

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: aba bcX dXX XcXXXdda
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,3,3,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 100110101001001 101010100110100 11001110010 111001010110 1110101101010 10100100101010 11101000011101 01001100111001 11011100101110 0101100101011 1010010010010 1011101011111 1001 010010111101001 01001101001111 10100101100100
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 175
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 54 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; what, this, of, on, and, in, giver are repeated.

    The author used the same words what, the at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of On The Death Of William Gould;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Aogán Ó Rathaille

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