This is an analysis of the poem Old Paul And Old Tim that begins with:

When rival adorers come courting a maid,
There's something or other may often be said,... 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: aabb ccdd aaee aaXX eeXX eeff aagg ffee hhii iijX kkii eejX aaff iiiX eeXa eeaX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 11010011001 11011011001 11101011011 01001011111 11101001011 11001001011 11111001011 011001011001 101001011001 101001011001 101001111011 01001111001 11011001111 101111101011 101011110100 111011001111 11011011001 01011011001 101001011001 1110110110100 11001001001 01001111001 01101011001 111001011011 11011011011 01001011001 11011001011 0100100101 11101001011 11011101011 111111001001 11011011011 01011011101 101011111101 11111111111 101101011001 11101101001 111101111101 101011011011 11001011010 11001001001 01001011001 11001001001 01011001001 11001001001 11101001001 11001001011 110010110100 11001011001 11111011001 11010111101 11011101001 111001001001 101101011101 01011111001 101101111010 11111001011 10001111001 1010110010100 11001011001 101111011001 11001011011 11111011001 11101001010
  • Amount of stanzas: 16
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 188
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 64
  • Average number of symbols per line: 46 (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; marrying, equally, they, young, i, and, him, in, old, has are repeated.

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

    The author used the same words the, old at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of Old Paul And Old Tim;
  • 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 Schwenck Gilbert