This is an analysis of the poem On The Death Of Dr. Samuel Marshall that begins with:

THROUGH thickest glooms look back, immortal
shade,...

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: XaabbaaXcddefeffaaaabbXcggeeaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 30,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 110111010 1 1101011111 1010011111 0101010101 1101110001 1101010001 1001010110 1101110001 1101110111 1111001111 0101110111 11010111010 1 0101110101 1101010101 1101110101 0101000101 0111010101 01111100001 1111110001 0101010001 0111001101 1101010101 1001000101 11010100001 0101011101 0101011111 1111010101 01010010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1240
  • Average number of words per stanza: 221
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of On The Death Of Dr. Samuel Marshall;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Phillis Wheatley