This is an analysis of the poem The Old Whim Horse that begins with:

He's an old grey horse, with his head bowed sadly,
   And with dim old eyes and a queer roll aft, ... 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: ababcdcd eeXefgfg hihijjjj bkbkflfl cjcjjljl fdfdfjfj fmfmfnfX cmcjclcl fnfnfgfgXflflfmfm
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,17,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111001110 1011110111 00111101110 1111100101 11101001010 111110101 10100101010 111100101 01111101110 1010100101 1111100011100 1011100101 11101101010 1110100101 10010011110 11100110111 10111101010 1010110101 10101101110 10011100101 101011001110 1011110101 10111101010 1010110101 10111101111 10100110110 10111101011 1110110111 11111111110 1011100101 11111101010 1010110101 0111001010 1010110101 10101001010 10101110101 101011011010 1010110101 10101101110 1011110111 11101111110 1010110101 11101101010 1011110101 11101001110 1011110101 11101001010 10101101001 10111101010 1011100101 10111101010 1010101111 11101001010 1010110101 10111101010 1111111100110 10111101110 1011110111 10111001110 1010110111 11101100110 1010111101 10111101110 1110110101 11001001010 1010110111 10101001010 1010110111 11101001010 1010100101 11111001010 1011100111 00101101110 1011110111 10101001110 1010110111 10111101010 1011110111 10101101110 1010100111
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 451
  • Average number of words per stanza: 72
  • Amount of lines: 80
  • Average number of symbols per line: 56 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Old Whim Horse;
  • 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