This is an analysis of the poem Passion Past that begins with:

WERE I a boy, with a boy's heart-beat
At glimpse of her passing adown the street, ... 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: aabbcdC eeffcdC fXaacdC gghhcdX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,7,7,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 010100111 1100101001 0011111011 101011101 1100110101 11101110 10101 010100111 111111101 11100101 101100101 1111111101 11101010 10101 11101011 1111010111100 00100110111 11001011001 1110100111 11101110 10101 11101011 110011101 1110111001 1110111111 111010111 10101010 110000
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 259
  • Average number of words per stanza: 50
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • 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; no, never, her, and are repeated.

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

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

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase never connects the lines.

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

  • summary of Passion Past;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik