The Harp, And Despair, Of Cowper by William Lisle Bowles: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Harp, And Despair, Of Cowper that begins with:

Sweet bard, whose tones great Milton might approve,
And Shakspeare, from high Fancy's sphere,... 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: abbaccdeedffgXXgdddggdXegccg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 28,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111110101 11001101 1000101 1101010011 110101 100101011101 11111101 11010101 11010101 10010101 11 10000101 1010111 010100 10110001 1011011001001 11010101 11111101 111011 11010101 1101011 1100010101 1001010101 1100110101 0101010011 0101 110101010101 111111011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1027
  • Average number of words per stanza: 192
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7

  • 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; his, in, vain, he are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words in, he are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Harp, And Despair, Of Cowper;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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