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

Philosophers have measur'd mountains,
Fathom'd the depths of the seas, of states, and kings, ... 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: aaaaXX bcbcdd Xecedd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 010011010 100010010111 1001011110 11111101 0101001110 1111110111 11111101 1011001111 0111011101 01010100 1011111101 0101011101 11111110 1111110101 0101101111 01010101 1011011101 1111111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 255
  • Average number of words per stanza: 48
  • Amount of lines: 18
  • 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; his is repeated.

    The author used the same word who 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 Agony;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by George Herbert