The Old Man Dreams by Oliver Wendell Holmes: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Old Man Dreams that begins with:

OH for one hour of youthful joy!
Give back my twentieth spring!... 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 eeee fgfg hahX XXgX diDi gjgX kjkX diDX Xhjhj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 111100101 11110001 11010111 110111 10010101 010101 11110101 110101 11011111 010101 11110101 011111 110010101 110101 1011111001 110111 100110011 011101 10110101 0101110 101010100 011101 11110101 11110100 010101001 110111 01100101 100101 100110101 010101 01011111 0101010 10101100101 110101 101110101 1111110 01010101 1000101 01100101 1001010 11111101 011001 11111101 010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 138
  • Average number of words per stanza: 20
  • Amount of lines: 46
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

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

  • summary of The Old Man Dreams;
  • 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

Poems about...
✕