This is an analysis of the poem Meg Merrilies that begins with:

OLD Meg she was a gipsy;
And liv'd upon the moors:... 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: XaXa abab aaXa ccdc XXXX caXa ccdcdX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111010 110101 01010111 1011101 01001110 010111 011100111 010111 01000101 010101 01001100 111101 110111001 1101001 11010111 110101 110010101 110100 110010111 111111 10010111 1101110 11000100 1101010 111111001 111101 11110111 011111 1101111 111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 143
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (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; her, she, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words her, no are repeated.

    The author used the same word her 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 Meg Merrilies;
  • 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 Keats