This is an analysis of the poem The Wandering Pilgrim that begins with:

Will Piggot must to Coxwould go,
To live, alas! in want,... 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 Xaba cdcX efef bdXd abab gcgc hbhb ijij Xjhj kjkj jXjjXfkfk
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01010101 010101 01110111 1010011 01011111 110101 01011101 110101 01001011 110101 11001111 110110 110101101 010110 11011101 010001 01011001 010111 111111111 110011 11010001 111101 11010111 110111 11011101 111011 11010101 011111 01110101 01001001 11010001 010101 10111100 010101 10110100 111111 10011001 111100 11011001 110101 10111101 110101 11110111 110001 11100101 010111 01011101 110111 11101111 110101 10011101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 121
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 52
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (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; his, he are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word oh at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The Wandering Pilgrim;
  • 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