This is an analysis of the poem For My Own Monument that begins with:

AS doctors give physic by way of prevention,
   Mat, alive and in health, of his tombstone took care; ... 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: abab cdcd ebeb fdfd gggg bhbh Xcdc bibi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 110110110010 101101001111 1011011010010 11001001101 11111001001 101001101111 11011011101 111001111001 11011101000 110110011011 11101111011 101101011011 101001101001 11011011001 010010010011 101001111011 101001011011 11011101011 11001101101 111011111111 01101011001 11001011001 01101001011 111011100101 11011101011 11101101101 11011111011 11111001101 001101101101 11111101001 101011101101 1111101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 234
  • Average number of words per stanza: 37
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 58 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; his, as, and, to, be, in are repeated.

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

  • summary of For My Own Monument;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Matthew Prior