This is an analysis of the poem A Litany Of Lethe that begins with:

O Lethe, hidden waters never dry,
We, all we weary and heavy-laden, cry,... 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: aAB ccB ddB eeB ffB aXB ggB ggB hhB ggBXAaB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 111010101 11110110101 111111101 1111110101 11111101111 111111101 1111010111 1101010111 111111101 1111110110 10010100101 111111101 1111010101 1101011101 111111101 1011010111 0101010100 111111101 1001010101 01000010101 111111101 1011110111 0100010100 111111101 1111011111 11010100101 111111101 1111111111 1011110100 111111101 11110110101 11001111101 111111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 11
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 126
  • Average number of words per stanza: 24
  • Amount of lines: 33
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • 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; we, and, from, us are repeated.

    The author used the same word thou at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word forget at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of A Litany Of Lethe;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Arthur Symons