This is an analysis of the poem Distant Hills that begins with:

What is there in those distant hills
My fancy longs to see,... 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: abXb acac dada eeee acac abab bcbc baba acac fafa bbXbXdcdc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10101101 110101 110010110 111100 11110101 011111 11010101 110101 01011101 10101001 10110101 1101011 11000111 110111 11110101 111101 11010111 111101 110010101 110101 01110101 010101 11011101 1101001 11010100 011111 11011111 1100101 11110111 1101010 11111101 010101 11110101 011111 11101100 110111 01000111 1011010 11111101 110111 11111101 010101 11010111 0101001 11010101 110111 01110101 111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 15
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 99
  • Average number of words per stanza: 18
  • Amount of lines: 51
  • Average number of symbols per line: 28 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

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

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by John Clare