This is an analysis of the poem A Fantasy that begins with:

A fantasy that came to me
As wild and wantonly designed... 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: ababcddc dedeccdfXfXXccbbgg hcchbbaXbbijjiddcc kkbbjjdddbb ldXdlgXcclkklbahabhhddmm jbbjgigiXjddaabbnn
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,18,18,11,24,18,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01001101 11110001 11010110 01000101 01010111 11000101 110011001 01010101 11010101 11000101 11010111 01010001 10011101 10110001 11000101 01111101 01011101 00111011 11010100 11010001 011000111 1001001011 01011111 01010101 11001111 01000101 11110101 01010101 110010001 11010011 11010111 11011101 11010101 01010100 11110111 11011101 11011111 11111101 11010101 11000101 11010101 11010101 11010101 11010001 01000111 01011101 11010101 11001101 11010101 01011001 10101101 11001101 11010101 01110001 010011101 01000101 01010101 11010100 10110101 11011101 110101011 01010101 11000101 01011101 11110001 01010101 11010101 01010101 11010001 11010101 11111111 11011111 11111111 110001001 11111101 01011101 11010101 110100110 11110100 11010101 11010101 11011001 11110001 11111101 01010101 01010101 11010101 0101110010 01010101 11011101 11110101 11011111 01011101 01010111 01010101 11010101 01010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 533
  • Average number of words per stanza: 101
  • Amount of lines: 97
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (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; of, that, and, i, her are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words as, of, i, a, my, to are repeated.

    The author used the same word a 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 A Fantasy;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by James Whitcomb Riley