This is an analysis of the poem The Angel-Thief that begins with:

TIME is a thief who leaves his tools behind him;
He comes by night, he vanishes at dawn;... 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 Xccc dede bebe bfbf gcgc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 10011101011 1111110011 11011111011 1111010111 11011101110 0101010101 11110111010 0111010111 111111001011 11001111101 10010111011 0101010011 11111101110 1111010101 11011100010 1001010111 11010101110 1101111111 11110100010 11000110101 11010111110 1111110111 11010111010 1111011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 181
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 45 (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; and, our, we are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Angel-Thief;
  • 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 Wendell Holmes