This is an analysis of the poem Prologue To Sophonisba; Spoken At Oxford, 1680 that begins with:

Thespis, the first professor of our art,
At country wakes, sung ballads from a cart. ... 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: aaXXbbaaccccddaaaaeeccXaccffcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 30,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1001010011 1101110001 01010100111 1001101010010 110110011 1011001101 110101111 0101000101 11010011010 10010111010 1101010011 1100110101 1101010101 11001010101 1111011101 1001000101 1111010001 10011010001 1101011100 1101000101 1101011101 0111001111 0101011010 1001110001 1011010111 1101000101 1101010101 1111011101 11110101010 11010101010
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1294
  • Average number of words per stanza: 226
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

  • summary of Prologue To Sophonisba; Spoken At Oxford, 1680;
  • 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 Dryden