This is an analysis of the poem The Sick Lion And The Ass that begins with:

A lion sunk by time's decay,
Too feeble grown to hunt his prey,... 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: aaaabbccddeeffggeehhiiggjjXgkddhh XXkkcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 33,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01011101 11010101 010101011 11111101 11110101 11010111 11111101 11110101 01111001 01011111 1001011 11110111 11111101 01010101 110101001 11110011 11111001 10110101 11111111 11010111 110101010 011111010 11111101 01010100 11010111 11011101 110100110 11110101 11001101 11011111 01111111 01010101 11101101 010 011100110 010100110 11110001 11011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 445
  • Average number of words per stanza: 83
  • Amount of lines: 38
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (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; he, by are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Sick Lion And The Ass;
  • 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