Sweet Peril by George MacDonald: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Sweet Peril that begins with:

Alas, how easily things go wrong!
A sigh too much, a kiss too long,...

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 ccddXaabb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011100111 01110111 1110011101 110100101 01110111 110100101 1010110101 1010100101 111100101 00110100101 1100100101 10100100101 111101101 0010110101 10100110101 001101001101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 161
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; and, be are repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word day 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 Sweet Peril;
  • 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

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