This is an analysis of the poem A Prayer For Old Age that begins with:

These are the things which I would ask of Time:
When I am old,... 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: abXba X ccccc X deded X bfbfb g cbcbc g bbbbb X fhfhf X ijiji
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,1,5,1,5,1,5,1,5,1,5,1,5,1,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1101111101 1111 100101110001 0111 0110111111 1 1001010111 0111 01110011011 1011 0101011101 1 1001011111 1101 11010010111 1111 1110111101 1 1001011101 10101 11001111101 0101 1101111101 1 1001111101 0101 1101011111 11011 11010010011 1 1001110101 1101 1001010011 1001 1011010101 1 1001011101 1101 0111111101 1101 0101010011 1 1111111101 1101 10010111101 1111 1111011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 15
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 90
  • Average number of words per stanza: 18
  • Amount of lines: 47
  • Average number of symbols per line: 28 (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; in is repeated.

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

  • summary of A Prayer For Old Age;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Madison Julius Cawein