This is an analysis of the poem The Ape that begins with:

An Ape is but a trivial beast,
Men count it light and vain;... 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: abcb acXc dcdc defe cgfg agcg hdad dddd agag hifX cjXj ifcf X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,1,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 110101001 110111 11110111 011101 01010101 011101 111101010 110101 1110100111 011101 11110101 110101 11111101 001100 11101101 110111 01010101 010101 01010101 010101 01010101 100011 11010101 100101 1111001001 1111001 11010101 010101 110101010 111101 11111111 110111 11011111 100101 101000111 011101 11010111 111101 01010001 110100 01011101 110101 11010101 100101 10110101 110011 11000111 101101 1
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 111
  • Average number of words per stanza: 22
  • Amount of lines: 60
  • Average number of symbols per line: 23 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; it, and, i, in are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Ape;
  • 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 Lamb