This is an analysis of the poem Song that begins with:

I told my nymph, I told her true,
My fields were small, my flocks were few,... 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 ccbB ccbB XXbb XXbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111101 11011101 110010111 110011101 01011101 11011111 01111101 101100101 11110101 01110101 111101001 101100101 10111101 110011111 01111101 110011001 111111001 11010011 100011101 11110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 145
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (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; my is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word how at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word sincere 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 Song;
  • 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 Shenstone