Merry Andrew by Matthew Prior: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Merry Andrew that begins with:

Sly Merry Andrew, the last Southwark fair;
(At Bartholomew he did not much appear,... 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: aaXbbbbXXccddeeXfgghbbhhccccXfiiXffcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 37,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1101001101 10101101101 1101010010 1101110111 0111010101 0111100111 0110001101 0011001100 0101010001 1111010101 0101100101 1110110101 1111010101 1101010111 1111100101 0111011110 1011001101 1101111111 0100011101 1011011111 1101011101 1101001111 1101010111 1111010001 1101010101 1111011101 0101011101 1111011110 00110110011 1101110111 1100111111 1111011111 01001010111 0101011111 1111110101 1111010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 787
  • Average number of words per stanza: 142
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; his, i, nor, your are repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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