This is an analysis of the poem An Elegy On The Death Of A Mad Dog that begins with:

Good people all, of every sort,
Give ear unto my song; ... 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 efef eded fcfc gcgc ededXaeae
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 010101001 111011 10110101 010111 01001101 010111 11010111 1001101 01110111 010111 010100111 111101 10110111 110110 11010111 110101 01111101 110101 01011101 111101 010101001 010101 11011101 011001 01011111 0100101 11110111 110111 11010101 110111 01010001 010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 122
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (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; he, and are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word man at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of An Elegy On The Death Of A Mad Dog;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Oliver Goldsmith