This is an analysis of the poem Ah Ling, The Leper that begins with:

UP a dark and fetid alley, where the offal and the slime
Of a brave and blusterous city met its misery and crime,... 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: aabb ccaa ddcc eeff ggcc hhgg hheeXccee
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 101110101010101 0011100101010011 001010100110101 111001101010101 101010100010101 101110101010101 101010101010111 1110011101111101 1010010101010111 101110110010101 1110101011100101 101010101011101 1011101010111001 001010101010101 101000101010001 101010100010011 111111101110101 101110100011101 001010101010111 101000111111101 1011011110110101 101010111110011 101110110010110 101010101110001 101111111010111 00101010101011 111011101011101 001110101010101 11010101011111 001010111010111 001001101011101 101011101010001
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 252
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 62 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, his, of, to are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Ah Ling, The Leper;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edward George Dyson