This is an analysis of the poem Olney Hymn 42: Self-Acquaintance that begins with:

Dear Lord! accept a sinful heart,
Which of itself complains, ... 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 cdcd efef gfgX dhdh iXiX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11010101 100101 11011101 010001 110010101 110111 11110101 010001 01001101 010101 10011101 111101 11000111 110101 01000101 111111 11011101 010111 11110101 110011 11100101 0111110 111101001 111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 124
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; me is 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 Olney Hymn 42: Self-Acquaintance;
  • 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