This is an analysis of the poem Israfel that begins with:

In Heaven a spirit doth dwell
"Whose heart-strings are a lute";... 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: aXaXaab cddcdddd efegfef hihgig jXjjbj cbcbb kffkf aXlaial
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,8,7,6,6,5,5,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01001011 101110100 111101 1010100 101011101 10110101 00111 10001 00101 00101 1001 10100101 00101010 1010 10010 11101010 10101001 1100010 010011 111111 01001010 0101001 1011101 1111010 110111 1010101 0101010 1110001 111111 10001100 1100001 0101001 1101010 100111 010001 0110101 11111111 0010011 110101 1100110 00101110 11011010 101101011 001101 0111 1100 111111 11111101 010100 101011011 0110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 218
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 51
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; thy, of are repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edgar Allan Poe