This is an analysis of the poem On Gray Eyes that begins with:

Looke how the russet morne exceeds the night,
How sleekest Jett yields to the di'monds light,... 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: aabXbbccddbXeedXXbXdffgghhXfbXddggbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 36,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1101010101 1101100101 1101000111 1101010100 0101000101 10011100101 0101110101 01111110101 0111011011 1010010100 1111110111 110001010 0101010011 0111010111 1101110001 1111101100 1101111001 11011101111 11010111011 01011100101 1111110111 11011010101 1101010101 1101110111 011011101 11001010101 1101110101 0101101101 01010111101 11010111 1110101101 101111101001 11111101001 11011101101 1101011111 0101011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1600
  • Average number of words per stanza: 297
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • 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.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; that is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of On Gray Eyes;
  • 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 Strode