This is an analysis of the poem On Time that begins with:

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race,
Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours,... 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: ababcaacXdaaddcccceffe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 22,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11001111111 11010101010 1101010101 11100111010 1011110111 110101 110011 110011 11111111100 1101110101 1101001111 01101001 1111011101 11001100100 110001 0111111101 010011 01111010101 1111010111 11010101 0101111101 10101111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 848
  • Average number of words per stanza: 154
  • Amount of lines: 22
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of On Time;
  • 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 Milton