Matthew by William Wordsworth: poem analysis

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

IF Nature, for a favourite child,
In thee hath tempered so her clay,... 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: abab cdcd ebeX fafa XgXg dXdX hahaXabab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 010101001 01110101 1100101111 11011101 110111111 01011101 01010001 010001100 11010101 10110011 11010101 10110100 10010111 10010111 11000111 11011111 110101010 01010101 10010101 11000101 01110101 0110101110 01110101 010101010 10110101 011100111 01101101 11010101 11011101 11011100 111101001 11110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 142
  • Average number of words per stanza: 26
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (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; of is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Matthew;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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