This is an analysis of the poem The African Prince that begins with:

IT was a king in Africa,
He had an only son;... 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: Xaba Xcbc Xded cddd fghg hheh biai ddXddhjh aheh bkgk dbgb ddfd dcac bbjb dklk dhdX ldldXbfgf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,8,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01010100 111101 1101011 110101 00110111 100101 11010011 111101 11111100 1100101 11011100 010101 01010101 010111 01010101 111101 11010101 010111 11000111 010101 01011101 110110 11011100 1100101 11011101 011111 11010111 111011 11100101 010001 11011001 110101 11010101 110101 10101101 111101 11011111 011101 11010111 011101 11010101 010101 11100101 111101 11011001 0101101 11010111 1111001 11110101 110101 11010101 101101 11010101 0101001 011100110 110101 11100101 111001 11001101 011100 11011101 110001 11100101 010101 11110101 110101 110010101 111111 10111101 010001 11101101 110101 11011101 110101 1110101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 18
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 126
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 76
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (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; and, his, she, him, with are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, when, they, she, one are repeated.

    The author used the same word they at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines wind is repeated).

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

  • summary of The African Prince;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Letitia Elizabeth Landon