This is an analysis of the poem The Old Flame that begins with:

My old flame, my wife!
Remember our lists of birds?...

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: abXcc bdeff fgXhg ddaXd XhXXi cfcdf ihhee Xeiii jcjjf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111 0101101 11011011 11101011 11001 101101001 11101 1100111 1101011 111111 010111 011011 01011011 10110 1011 0101 11011 101010 101001 101101 111110 0101010 11010 110 01101 100110 1011011 011101 1011011 101011 1011101 11001110 111010 10011 01101 11111 0111 01011 1110111 011101 1101 1011 011101 101101 001001
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 127
  • Average number of words per stanza: 24
  • Amount of lines: 45
  • Average number of symbols per line: 25 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • 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; new, to are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Old Flame;
  • 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 Lowell