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

Lord, shed thy light upon his desert path,
And gild his branded brow, that no man spill... 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: abba Xccc bccb deed caac effe
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111010101 1101011111 0101011100 1111010001 0101011010 01001010001 0101010001 0101010101 1001011111 1101011001 10110001001 1011001100 1101010101 0101110101 11010010101 1111010101 1111010011 1101000101 1111010101 1101110111 1111010111 1100010011 1011110111 1101110001
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 168
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; his, to, you are repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ambrose Bierce