This is an analysis of the poem To —— that begins with:

LONG ere I knew thee—years of loveless days—
A Shape would gather from my dreams and pour... 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: ababcc dadaee fgXghh fafXiX dadaXX cgcgaa dadaff jijikk eaeaeall
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111100101 0111001111 01110000101 00110100001 1111010101 1101010011 1111001101 11010001010 1100111101 01010111110 1101010101 01001001101 1111111101 010111001 110011010 011010000101 01011000101 0101000101 1101110101 0111010101 1111011100 10110001000 1100111111 11001011000011 1101000101 1001011111 0101010101 11010101001 1101010111 01001110101 1001010101 0111110101 0011111101 10000010111 10001010111 11110101001 1111011101 1110111111 0110010001 1111110101 1101011110 1001110111 0101011101 1001011101 0111101101 1111010011 11111101011 0111001101 1101010101 1101010101 1101100101 0101011001 1001010101 1010010100 1101010101 1100100111
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 265
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 56
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; with, my are repeated.

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

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

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase thine connects the lines.

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

  • summary of To ——;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Charles Harpur