The Death Of The Rev. Dr. Wilson by William Topaz McGonagall: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Death Of The Rev. Dr. Wilson that begins with:

'Twas in the year of 1888 and on the 17th of January
That the late Rev. Dr. Wilson's soul fled away;... 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:
  • Stanza lengths (in strings):
  • Closest metre:
  • Сlosest rhyme:
  • Сlosest stanza type:
  • Guessed form:
  • Metre:
  • Amount of stanzas: 14
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 235
  • Average number of words per stanza: 42
  • Amount of lines: 56
  • Average number of symbols per line: 58 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of, he, and, his, from, miss, then are repeated.

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

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines dundee is repeated).

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

  • summary of The Death Of The Rev. Dr. Wilson;
  • 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 Topaz McGonagall

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