This is an analysis of the poem Oh, What Shall Be My Song To-Night? that begins with:

Oh, what shall be my song to-night ?
The earth, the sea, or sky,... 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: ababacac dbdbcece fcfcabab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11101101 010111 011011001 111101 11110101 010101 11010101 010111 01000101 0101001 01111111 0111001 01011111 011101 01010111 011101 10010011 1101011 110010101 111101 11110001 011101 01111111 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 255
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • 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; to is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Oh, What Shall Be My Song To-Night?;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Kate Harrington