On Retirement by Philip Freneau: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem On Retirement that begins with:

A HERMIT'S house beside a stream
With forests planted round,... 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: abaab cdccd bebbe bfbbf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01010101 010101 11000111 1110011 10100111 01011111 010101 01010101 01010101 010101 11010101 11101 11011101 11011101 110001 11011111 11011101 11010111 11101101 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 156
  • Average number of words per stanza: 29
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (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; to is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word a 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 On Retirement;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Philip Freneau

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