This is an analysis of the poem Jonah that begins with:

A purple whale
Proudly sweeps his tail ...

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: aaXbbc XXdccd eeebbe ddeaae dddffd ggaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0101 10101 01100 101 1001 010101 1101 010100 111 1001 1101 110111 1101 10101 1101 111 1001 0101001 0101 1100001 1101 111 0101 111111 1001 111111 1101 1010 01010 0100111 01110100 1001100 110101 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 123
  • Average number of words per stanza: 20
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 21 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 4
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of Jonah;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Robert Graves