This is an analysis of the poem Once that begins with:

I SET a lily long ago;
I watched it whiten in the sun;... 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: abbbbaba cdddecec fgXghXhf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11010101 11010001 11011111 110111 011101 110111 10011111 01110101 11011101 11010111 11001101 110111 011001 111101 10010111 01111111 01010111 01010111 10110111 101101 101111 1111010 11110111 11111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 247
  • Average number of words per stanza: 50
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (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; i, my, lost are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word i 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 Once;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Augusta Davies Webster