This is an analysis of the poem The Nymph’s Reply To The Shepherd that begins with:

If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every Shepherd’s tongue, ... 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: aabB ccdd eeff eXgg eebbXccbB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01011101 110100101 11010111 01011011 11010101 11011111 11001001 01010101 010111101 010101001 01010101 010011101 111111010 11111110 111101010 010101010 11011101 01011101 11011111 01011011 11111111 11111111 11011111 01011011
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 149
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, thy, soon are repeated.

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

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

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

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

  • summary of The Nymph’s Reply To The Shepherd;
  • 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 Walter Raleigh