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

In youth exalted high in air,
Or bathing in the waters fair,... 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: aabbbbXcddXXddeeffffbbccffccddgghhaabbXcbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 42,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01010101 11000101 10011101 11110101 11011101 11010101 11110110 11101101 11011111 01011001 11111111 11111101 11011111 11110001 01111101 01111111 11110001 11011101 11011001 11110101 01110101 01010101 01110111 11010011 11010001 01000101 11001101 11011101 01110101 01011101 010101010 010111010 11110011 11010111 11110101 11010101 11111101 11010111 110111010 11011101 11100101 11110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1394
  • Average number of words per stanza: 280
  • Amount of lines: 42
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (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; in, my, his, i are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words to, the, i are repeated.

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

  • summary of On A Pen;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Jonathan Swift