This is an analysis of the poem The Hours Of Illness that begins with:

How slow creeps time! I hear the midnight chime,
And now late revellers prepare for sleep;...

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: ababccaXadddefgf hfhfadedhfhXaidihgXg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,20,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111110111 1111000111 0111100101 1111010111 0101010101 1101110111 1111110101 1101010101 1101100101 0111010111 1101011001 1101010101 1101111111 0101010101 1111010111 11111101001 1101111111 0101010101 11010100101 1100110101 1101010101 1011010101 1101010011 1111111101 1101110111 1101010101 1101111101 10110001010 0111010111 1101010111 0101010101 0111010101 0111010101 1001111111 0111010101 1111010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 822
  • Average number of words per stanza: 149
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 45 (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; from, so are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Hours Of Illness;
  • 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