This is an analysis of the poem The Philosophical Egotist that begins with:

Hast thou the infant seen that yet, unknowing of the love
Which warms and cradles, calmly sleeps the mother's heart above--...

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 ccdd eeff gg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,2,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: sonnet with trochaic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 11010111010001 11110101010101 100010101010101 110010101010101 11110101010101 10011101010101 001111111111001 10010001010111 111101101101110 110101010111010 11100110110101 11010101010101 11111001110101 0101001011100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 219
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 62 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

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

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

    The author used the same word and at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The Philosophical Egotist;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Friedrich Schiller