This is an analysis of the poem The Character Of A Happy Life that begins with:

How happy is he born or taught,
That serveth not another's will;... 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: abab cdcd efef fafa gfgfXebeb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11001111 11010100 11000101 11010101 11010101 11010111 01100101 01011101 11011111 11110101 010111011 11011100 11010101 11000101 111101001 11010101 11111101 10011101 11010101 00110111 01010101 01011101 10011101 11010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 142
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • 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 whose is repeated.

    The author used the same word who 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 Character Of A Happy Life;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sir Henry Wotton