This is an analysis of the poem An Old Memory that begins with:

How sweet the music sounded
That summer long ago,...

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: abcb Xdcd Xece efef Xgah caca fgXg aigi Xfcf Xjhj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1101010 110101 1101111 010101 1111010 1111001 1111011 111101 1111010 010101 1101001 111101 1101110 110101 0111110 0101001 0101110 111101 1101110 011100 1100111 110101 0110111 011001 1111010 111101 0111010 111101 1111010 010101 1111110 111101 1111110 111101 1110011 111001 1101110 111101 11111100 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 113
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 27 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, your, it are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words i, and, oh are repeated.

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

  • summary of An Old Memory;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar