On Old Man's Thought Of School by Walt Whitman: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem On Old Man's Thought Of School that begins with:

AN old man's thought of School;
An old man, gathering youthful memories and blooms, that youth itself... 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: aXb Xc ddcdX Xda XXXXX Xbaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,2,5,3,5,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 111101 11110010100111101 10 1101111 11010111010101 111111001 1101010111 10010101010101 101110010001 10110 100101111 100100101010010 100101 1110001 1111010110001011 101111011101 10010111010101010 10 110100 11011001101 0111101100110 011111010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 172
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 22
  • Average number of symbols per line: 47 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 7

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; these is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of On Old Man's Thought Of School;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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