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

Once a dream did weave a shade
O'er my angel-guarded bed,... 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: aabb ccbb bbbX ddee aaXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1010101 10110101 1110101 1111011 10100101 1010101 10100101 1111101 1110111 1111101 1110101 1011111 1001101 1110111 1011101 1010001 1110101 1010101 1010101 101001111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 124
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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; they is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word now is repeated.

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

  • summary of A Dream;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by William Blake