This is an analysis of the poem Lak Of Stedfastnesse that begins with:

Somtyme the world was so stedfast and stable
That mannes word was obligacioun,... 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: aXXXXXX aXaXXXX aXXXXXX XXXXXXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,7,7,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10011110110 11111000 1100111100 111110100 110111111 0101111100 1101110100 110010011000 111110100 101110101010 101111100 101011100 1100110100 1101110100 10111001010 101111000 110011010 110001100 011101000 1101110100 1101110100 111000100 101111100 110110100 011010110 111101000 1111111100 1111100100
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 275
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

    The poet repeated the same word stedfastnesse at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of Lak Of Stedfastnesse;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Geoffrey Chaucer