This is an analysis of the poem Psalm Lxxii: Great God that begins with:

Great God, whose universal sway
The known and unknown worlds obey,... 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 ccdd eeee XbXc ffee ccbb bbdd ggcX hhii ccee XdeeXhhbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11110101 01101101 11010011 010100101 01010101 110110001 01010101 11110111 010110101 110010001 01010111 10110101 11111101 111101001 01110110 110011101 01011101 01010001 01101101 11010101 01110001 10010111 11010001 11010101 101110001 10010101 01010101 11111111 11110101 11010101 01110111 010010101 101101001 11010101 11010101 11100001 100110011 010010101 01010101 11010111 110101010 11011111 01010101 11011101 110010111 01010011 10010101 11010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 12
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 142
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; his, on are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word the at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of Psalm Lxxii: Great God;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Isaac Watts