This is an analysis of the poem Apologia that begins with:

IS it thy will that I should wax and wane,
Barter my cloth of gold for hodden grey,... 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 edXd dada fbfX dede agaX acac ghgh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0010111111 1011011101 1111011101 1101110101 0010111111 1111100101 0111010011 010101111 1000101101 1101010101 1111001100 1101010111 0101010111 1111110101 1111100101 1111000101 1001111101 01001011101 1001010101 1101010100 1101010101 1111010101 0101100101 1011000111 11010101101 0101110101 10010101001 1001010100 1100010010 011010101 0111010111 0101110111 110110101 1111111101 1101010101 0111011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 206
  • Average number of words per stanza: 33
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 53 (very long strings)
  • 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; that, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, nor are repeated.

    The author used the same word is 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 Apologia;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Oscar Wilde