This is an analysis of the poem Josephus Riley that begins with:

The rum was rich and rare,
There were wagers in the air,... 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: aaXbccX ddbcXX eefXfXX gghbeeX iibjjkX gXgbffkX hhXXXX ffXBhXX lXXBccX jjXXXX llXffX ccfXhhX bbXffX eeXbbX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,6,7,7,7,8,6,7,7,6,6,7,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011111 1010001 01011101010 101 1110010 1100110 1010100011 010001 110101 110101000101001 00101001 1101110 11010100011 1110001 010011 11011100001 10 010101 1100110 11010100011 110101 11111101 010001011100 01 011101 011101 010010100011 110001 010111 01011101010101 010101 1010101 1101010001 10 1010111 101000 111111000101 00 1010101 1010101 1111110001 1 101001 110101 0100010111010 110101 1101000 11010100011 010101 110101 011101011100 01 1110101 1010111 11010100011 1101101 1011100 011111010100 01 10101001 1110101 01011100011 110101 1010101 0101001001010 1101010 111101 100101000110 1010011 110101 1101010010010 110101 1010101 11010100011 1011101 010001 0111010101 100 1010011 010101 11010100011 110101 011101 11101010110000 110001 1010101 01010100011 110101 110101 0101010001010 110011 110101 11011100011
  • Amount of stanzas: 14
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 213
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 93
  • 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.

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

  • summary of Josephus Riley;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake