This is an analysis of the poem Southampton Water that begins with:

Smooth went our boat upon the summer seas,
Leaving, for so it seemed, the world behind,... 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: abbabccbdeedffbggbhh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111010101 1011010101 0101011101 0101011101 110110011101 0011010111 1101101101 1101010101 0101101101 1111110101 0101010111 1011010111 1111111111 10010010100 1001010101 1111010101 1011110101 1101010101 1101110101 1111011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 877
  • Average number of words per stanza: 159
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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.

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

  • summary of Southampton Water;
  • 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 Lisle Bowles