This is an analysis of the poem The Old Man's Comforts And How He Gained Them that begins with:

You are old, Father William, the young man cried,
The few locks which are left you are grey;... 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: AbcB Addd AbcB Adad AbXB aeae
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11110100111 011111111 111101001011 11101011 001011101001 101011111 101111111011 111011011 11110100111 11001101 11101101111 11101011 001011101001 101011111 11001011010 111011101 11110100111 111010001 111011010011 11101011 111011101001 101101001 001011101011 111101011
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 167
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you, my, i are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, i are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Old Man's Comforts And How He Gained Them;
  • 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 Southey