This is an analysis of the poem A Ballad Of The Last King Of Thule that begins with:

There was a King of Thule
Whom a Witch-wife stole at birth; ...

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: XAba cdcd bdXX XcXc ddcd cece efXf ddXd gfgf baXA
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110101 1011111 00101110 1100111 11001010 11100111 111101110 100111 011111100 0110111 1101011 1010100 11011110 01101110 10111010 0001010 11011010 0011111 111111010 111111 101110110 1100101 1001110 010101 111111010 111111 100011000 1101001 01010011 0111001 1010111000 10111001 01011010 1111111 01110110 1000101 111101010 0010101 011101 1011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 137
  • Average number of words per stanza: 24
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (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; and, his are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Ballad Of The Last King Of Thule;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Sydney Wheeler Jephcott