This is an analysis of the poem A Contented Mind that begins with:

I weigh not Fortune's frown or smile,
I joy not much in earthly joys;... 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: ababccdedeffgegegghihiee
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 24,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11110111 11110101 11111111 11110101 11110111 11111111 11110101 11011101 11110101 11110101 11111111 11011101 11010101 11110101 11110101 111010111 11011101 01011001 11110111 11110101 11110101 10110111 00011111 01100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 813
  • Average number of words per stanza: 167
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (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; i, not, see are repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Joshua Sylvester