To Night by Percy Bysshe Shelley: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem To Night that begins with:

Swiftly walk o'er the western wave,
Spirit of Night!... 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: ababccb dXdbeeb fDfdbbD ededeedXefefbbf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,7,15,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101100101 1001 10010101 11011111 11010111 11110011 1011 11100101 110 10110101 100110101 11010101111 101011001 111 11011101 1111 111110111 1111011011 101011001 10011011 1111 1101111 111 11110101 1010101 1110111 1111101 111 1011111 111 1011111 01011101 11010101 1010101 111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 225
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 35
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (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; and is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word and is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word thee 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 To Night;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley

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