This is an analysis of the poem Retrospect: The Jests Of The Clock that begins with:

He had met hours of the clock he never guessed before-
Dumb, dragging, mirthless hours confused with dreams and fear,...

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: aaaabb cdcdee fgfgaa hihiee chchjj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11110001110101 1101010010111 1101010101111 1001110011011 101111100101 1001010111001 110101010111 1101110101010 1111110101001 1100100110010 1101010101010 1101111101010 110011111001 111001010011 0101110010101 110101010101 1111010010101 100111101101 100101101001 101111010101 1111010101101 1011001010111 010111010111 11001010110101 1110111001 1101001010101 0101110010111 1011010000101 1011010111101 0101010101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 328
  • Average number of words per stanza: 59
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 54 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, hours, when, o, his are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Retrospect: The Jests Of The Clock;
  • 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