This is an analysis of the poem The Conversation. A Tale that begins with:

It always has been a thought discreet
To know the company you meet;... 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: aabbcc aaddeeff gg aahhiiXajjaajjbb djkjd iiaaeeddffllkkggddmmjjjjXjhhnn ddaaii jjoXaaccppggiifbXjjeeoo
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,8,2,16,5,30,6,23,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011100101 01010011 111101010 010101010 01111111 11110111 11010101 01001101 11010101 11000101 11111101 11110011 01111111 01110101 01011101 01111001 110000010 111101010 11110111 11000111 11011111 11010111 01110100 11110101 11000101 110110101 01010001 01011101 11001111 01010111 1100101010 110100110 11011111 01111 1 1 1 11010101 11000101 10010011 10110101 01010101 11010111 101001010 110100010 11111101 010101001 10110101 11011101 00110101 11110101 01011001 1111011 111110010 1100101010 11010111 11010001 10010101 11110001 11010111 100100101 11110111 01010111 11010111 11000101 01110001 11110001 101101010 111101010 11011101 11011111 110110101 11011011 01010101 01111101 01000111 11011110 01010101 11010111 11100111 11010101 11110011 11010101 11111111 01110101 11010101 11010101 10111101 011100110 1011101111 1001010111 0101011101 0101010101 101101101 1101011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 406
  • Average number of words per stanza: 75
  • Amount of lines: 96
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; our, and, his, know, i are 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 The Conversation. A Tale;
  • 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