This is an analysis of the poem Try Before You Trust that begins with:

To counsel my estate, abandoned to the spoil
Of forged friends, whose grossest fraud is set with finest foil; ... 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: aabbcc ddeecc ffaacc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 010101010001 0111101010101 01011101111101 11111000011101 11011111111 11011111100101 01011110111 11011101010001 01010111110101 10111111110101 100110111111 11011111010101 010101110101 11111111010101 011101010101 01110101010001 111111111111 11011111100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 346
  • Average number of words per stanza: 63
  • Amount of lines: 18
  • Average number of symbols per line: 57 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to, friend, doth are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word foe 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 Try Before You Trust;
  • 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 Vaux