The City Of God by Samuel Johnson: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The City Of God that begins with:

CITY of God, how broad and far
Outspread thy walls sublime!... 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: aXaX bcbc dede cfcf ghgh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10011111 101101 01110101 0100111 11011101 111101 11011101 110100 11011111 010101 110111001 010111 111100101 010101 111100111 010101 01010101 010101 010100101 0010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 124
  • Average number of words per stanza: 22
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word how at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The City Of God;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Samuel Johnson

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