This is an analysis of the poem To A Caged Lion that begins with:

Poor conquered monarch! though that haughty glance
Still speaks thy courage unsubdued by time,... 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: aXbXcc Xdcdee fgbgffXaebebb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,13,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101111101 1111010011 1000101101 1011001101 1011110111 101101010101 1101011101 0101001101 0111011001 1011001101 01001010101 1111011111 1101010101 1111010101 01001110101 1101010101 1101011101 1101011101 1100010101 1101011101 10001001101 11010001001 11010001001 1111010100001
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 270
  • Average number of words per stanza: 48
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (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; thy, and, that, of are repeated.

    The author used the same word thou 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 To A Caged Lion;
  • 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