The Rover's Apology by William Schwenck Gilbert: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Rover's Apology that begins with:

Oh, gentlemen, listen, I pray;
Though I own that my heart has been ranging,... 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: ababcdcdaeae adadfXfXaeae
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 12,12,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11001011 1111111010 01001101 110010010 01001001 011011010 01001011 1111111010 01001011 110110010 11011001 111110010 11011011 100010010 11001001 011010010 101001001 111111010 11101001 010010010 10111001 000010110 11001001 1110110010
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 408
  • Average number of words per stanza: 79
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, and, young, to are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word the is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word morrow at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of The Rover's Apology;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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