This is an analysis of the poem Subsidy that begins with:

If thou wouldst live the Truth in very deed,
Thou hast thy joy, but thou hast more of pain....

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: abbaabbacde cXde
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 11,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 0111010101 1111111101 1001011101 0100011011 0111010101 1100111101 10010011101 1110011101 0101110111 1101011011 1011011101 1001111101 1101011101 01110011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 210
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; thou, in are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Subsidy;
  • 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 MacDonald