This is an analysis of the poem Kathleen’s Lover that begins with:

I would I had a thousand tongues
To sing thy praise, to sing thy praise,...

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: aabXaacddCefaafecggCAbhhbAciiCADjjdAbkkD
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 40,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11110101 01110111 11011101 01001100 11111111 11110101 01110111 11110111 01010101 01110111 11110101 01110111 11110111 11010111 11011101 11110101 01110111 11110101 11010101 01110111 11110101 01110111 011101110 011111010 01110111 11110101 01110111 11101111 11011101 01110111 11110101 11011101 01010101 11100111 11011101 11110101 01010101 01010101 11111101 11011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1383
  • Average number of words per stanza: 293
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to, thee, for are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word to is repeated.

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

  • summary of Kathleen’s Lover;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Dora Sigerson Shorter