This is an analysis of the poem Despair that begins with:

Thy wings swoop darkening round my soul, Despair!
And on my brain thy shadow seems to brood ... 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: abbaaXba cdcddc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 11110011101 1111111101 11110100101 01010011111 1101011111 1101010110 0111000101 0111110001 1111100111 10011101001 11010100101 0101010101 1111010001 11111100111
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 319
  • Average number of words per stanza: 56
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 45 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; thy is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Despair;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Mathilde Blind