This is an analysis of the poem To The Gad-Fly that begins with:

Majestic insect! from thy royal hum,
The flies retreat, or starve before they'll come; ... 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: aabb bbcc ddee ffgg ccee bbhh iicc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 0101101101 0101110111 001001110101 0101011111 1101010101 001001010101 1101110101 1001010101 0101010111 0101010101 0100010101 0111001101 1101011101 1101010001 0100011111 0100010101 1101000111 1001111101 0101101001 0101010001 1001010101 0101010101 11001111101 1101011101 0101111101 1101110101 1101011111 1101110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 169
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

  • summary of To The Gad-Fly;
  • 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 Moses Horton