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

O foolish wisdom sought in books!
O aimless fret of household tasks! ... 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: aaba XcXc dcac cebe bfbf cded gbXbXdgbg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11010101 11010111 11110111 01011101 11011101 11010001 110010111 01010111 11110101 01111101 01010101 10010111 11010111 11010111 01111111 01010101 11110101 11110111 01110111 11110101 011101010 11010111 01010111 11110101 11010111 10010111 11111101 110111101 11011101 01011111 11011101 11011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 159
  • Average number of words per stanza: 29
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (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; o, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words o, the, and are repeated.

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

  • summary of Longing;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ina D. Coolbrith