This is an analysis of the poem The Idle Shepherd Boys that begins with:

The valley rings with mirth and joy;
Among the hills the echoes play... 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: aabacdccdcc efgfahiihaa jbdbeaiXaiX dkXkhXlliXX eXddakmmkii cndnflccXcc hdfdifggfdd lXdfmdeeddd icjcmdXdddd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01010111 01010101 01010101 010001 01110001 01010101 11010101 111100111 010111 110100101 01010001 01010101 11110001 11010111 010111 11010111 01000101 10111011 11111101 110111 11110101 11010101 01010101 01110101 01010001 110111 01011101 11011111 11011111 11011100 110101 11011101 10010101 11010001 10010111 111101010 010101 11111111 11000101 10111101 110011101 110100 11010101 11011101 10111111 11111111 01011101 110111 01011111 01010111 000100101 110110101 010101 10010111 01010101 01010101 01000101 11111111 010001 11110101 01010111 01010101 11010101 110110 01100101 01111101 01110001 11010111 01001111 000101 01111111 11110101 11010101 10010101 110101 01110111 11001101 11111101 11010111 01010111 011111 11010111 11110101 01011101 11010101 111101 11010111 11110101 11000101 11010001 01011001 110101 00110111 11110111 11010111 11110101 110001 11010111 11010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 370
  • Average number of words per stanza: 70
  • Amount of lines: 99
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, they, his, him are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Idle Shepherd Boys;
  • 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 Wordsworth