This is an analysis of the poem Hope, Like The Short-Lived Ray That Gleams Awhile that begins with:

Hope, like the short-lived ray that gleams awhile
Through wintry skies, upon the frozen waste,... 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: abab aXac deXe bfbf cgcg hdhd dbdb bibi fcfX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101111101 1101010101 110010100001 11010101001 1111011111 01111110010 1111111101 1101000101 1111010101 1111010111 111101011000 11001010011 0101010101 11010101001 1111010101 1101110101 1101110001 10001010111 0101110101 110101010101 1111011001 1101100001 1011011001 011010110010 1100110101 1001010001 0101011101 0111010111 1111001101 1111011001 0101010111 1110100111 11110001101 1111110111 1001110111 1111100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 177
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (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; our, and, to, my 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 Hope, Like The Short-Lived Ray That Gleams Awhile;
  • 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 Cowper