This is an analysis of the poem A Retrospective Review that begins with:

I
Oh, when I was a tiny boy, ... 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: a aABAAB X bbcddc X bbXcXX X eeaffa a bbgddg a hheXbe X iigjjg X iiacca X kkaeea X aXbggb a iilbbl X eekiik X jjkbbk X bbkjjk X mmkffk X nnXggX XXaABAAB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,1,6,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1 11110101 11110101 110111 11011011 11011011 010101 1 01110101 01001111 010101 11110111 11010111 110101 1 11011111 11110101 010101 11011101 01010100 110001 1 11111101 11010101 110001 1101001001 01111011 010111 1 11110111 11110111 111101 11011101 11010001 110001 1 11110101 11010011 011011 110001100 11011111 110111 1 11010111 11001101 111101 11010111 11110101 111101 1 01011111 11110101 011111 10101111 010011101 111101 1 11111101 11111111 110111 11111101 11011101 110101 1 11011101 01010101 1100111 01011111 01010111 010111 1 11010101 01011101 111101 11010101 10110101 010101 1 11111101 110111111 111111 010101111 110110111 011101 1 11010111 11010101 1111001 11011001 01011101 110001 1 0010010101 01010111 111111 01011111 01111111 010111 1 0110101 01010111 101101 11111111 11010101 010101 1 111100101 01010101 010111 01011111 01011101 110001 1 11110101 11110101 110111 11011011 11011011 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 34
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 100
  • Average number of words per stanza: 19
  • Amount of lines: 135
  • Average number of symbols per line: 25 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; my, so, that are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Retrospective Review;
  • 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 Hood