This is an analysis of the poem From The Philosopher’s Stone that begins with:

Now she heard the following words sadly sung,—
“Life is a shadow that flits away ...

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: X ab X ca X dd e cc X bb f dd e aa g ffXg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11101001101 100111101 00101011 11110101 11010101 011111 1011010100 110100101 001011101 1101011010 11010101 11001001001 11011111 001011101 10011101 11101010 11010101 110110101 1001010110 11100101 1101100111 001110101010 010101101 0010001001 1010101110101010
  • Amount of stanzas: 17
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 58
  • Average number of words per stanza: 11
  • Amount of lines: 25
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (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; in is repeated.

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

  • summary of From The Philosopher’s Stone;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Hans Christian Andersen