This is an analysis of the poem Summer Afternoon (Bodiam Castle, Sussex) that begins with:

THOU couldst not look on me and live: so runs
The mortal legend -- thou that couldst not live ... 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: aXbcdefghaijkalmngjfdgjlccoadmcflaXleXlpaXhjlqhd alafajbeaXpXaajgnl klbXXkdoagXbab maijojjoXXbiqjl
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 48,18,14,15,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111111111 0101011111 1111100101 1110010101 01100010101 1011111001 11110100101 101101001 1111011101 1011010100 1011010101 1111011111 0100000101 10011101010 1001110101 1101010101 11100100110 1101011101 01001010111 0111110101 1101011101 11110011001 1111010111 11 01111111 01111100101 1000110101 0101011101 1101010100 1100010101 1101010001 1111011101 1111110111 1001001100 1100111000 1011010101 1001111111 11011100010 11100001101 1101110100 0101010111 010111001010 11010110001 1111010101 1011100101 1101010001 1101010101 1011100110 10001110011 1111111111 1110000101 1101010011 1111011101 0111110101 110010101001 1111010101 0101000001 11110100000 01010100 11010111010 1011010001 0101010111 1111011111 1111110101 1101011101 1101100101 1101110111 1101011101 0101010011 100010101110 0100110101 1101011001 10110111011 11010100111 1111010011 0101110101 10011111100 1101010111 1001001001 1101111111 1101000101 01001101001 1101010101 10011011101 1101110101 01010011010 1101000101 0101011101 0101000101 1011011001 0101010101 0101010101 1101011111 1011010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 815
  • Average number of words per stanza: 145
  • Amount of lines: 94
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; me, in, from, of, this, or, your, and, so, to are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Summer Afternoon (Bodiam Castle, Sussex);
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edith Wharton