This is an analysis of the poem Cathchism that begins with:

Oh! say not, dream not, heavenly notes
To childish ears are vain,... 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: abab cdcd dede fgfg hghg fifi ejej bjbj kXkX lflfXejej
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111111001 010111 10111101 110101 11010111 1101011 11010111 010001 11110101 110101 11011101 010111 111101001 010001 01000101 100101 110101010 010101 010001010 010100 11110101 110101 110101001 111111 10111001 111101 1011001101 110111 11110101 1100101 11011101 111101 10110111 111101 11011101 101111 00111101 110111 10011101 1110101 11011111 111111 11111101 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 11
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 128
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 44
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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; by, to, his, we are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word yet 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 Cathchism;
  • 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 Keble