This is an analysis of the poem Dream Song I that begins with:

Long years ago, within a distant clime,
Ere Love had touched me with his wand sublime,...

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: XXaabbcc aaddeecc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1001010101 1111100101 1101011111 0101000101 1101011101 1101000101 0111101101 0011010011 1111111101 0111110111 1101110101 011110111 0111001001 0011110111 1111001111 1110010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 342
  • Average number of words per stanza: 68
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; from is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word dreams at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of Dream Song I;
  • 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