This is an analysis of the poem Acrostics: Ii. To My Eldest Son, In Severe Sickness that begins with:

Thou sweetest, loveliest babe-my first born son;
I low great has been thy sufferings from disease!... 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: abXb caca dede fgfg hfhf aiai chXh aiaiXaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11010011111 111101100001 1111110110 1101111111 1101001111 1111000101 1101110111 1111011110 1111111101 01111101010 1011010001 01001111010 1101111101 1011011101 01000011101 1101011001 1111010101 1101011101 0111111101 1101111101 1001000101 11010010111 1001011101 0101111111 1111111101 101001010101 1000111100 0100011011 1111010101 1111010101 11011101101 110000101 1101111001 1101100111
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 168
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; his, would, of, to are repeated.

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

  • summary of Acrostics: Ii. To My Eldest Son, In Severe Sickness;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Thomas Cowherd