A Fable by William Cowper: poem analysis

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

A raven, while with glossy breast
Her new-laid eggs she fondly press'd,... 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: aabbccdddddeeffgghhiijjkklldd jeemmllbbff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 29,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01010101 01111101 110101110 010101010 01010011 01010001 01110101 11010101 01010101 11000111 11010101 10110101 11000101 10111101 11010101 111101010 110101010 11110101 11010101 110111010 1111001110 01110001 11000111 01011101 11110101 11010101 01000101 11010001 11010101 10 11000101 010011111 10011001 01000101 11110101 01110101 11010101 11001111 10010101 10011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 693
  • Average number of words per stanza: 126
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; her, and, in 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 A Fable;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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