The Bargain by Sir Philip Sidney: poem analysis

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

MY true love hath my heart, and I have his,
   By just exchange one for another given: ... 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: abXbA babXA
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111111110 11011101010 1101111101 11010101010 1111111110 0101111101 1101011101 1111110101 11000101010 1111111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 270
  • Average number of words per stanza: 45
  • Amount of lines: 10
  • Average number of symbols per line: 53 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 9

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; my, his, heart, in, and are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word his at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase his connects the lines.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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