This is an analysis of the poem When You Are Old that begins with:

WHEN you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,... 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: abbacddceffe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 12,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111111101 11010101101 1101110011 1111101111 1101110011 1111001111 1111010101 1101001101 1101010101 1001010111 1101010101 1101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 517
  • Average number of words per stanza: 100
  • Amount of lines: 12
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (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; and, of, loved, your are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of When You Are Old;
  • 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 Butler Yeats