This is an analysis of the poem Hard Knocks that begins with:

I'm not the man to say that failure's sweet,
Nor tell a chap to laugh when things go wrong; ...

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: ababcdcD efefgdgD hahafdfD
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 01010111001 1101011111 1101010101 1111010101 0001010101 1111010111 1011111100 0101010100 11111101110 0111010001 11110100110 0101110101 1101010001 1101110101 0101010101 0101010100 0101010111 1111000101 1111010101 1001011111 1111011101 1101110011 1101010001 0101010100
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 342
  • Average number of words per stanza: 65
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (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; to, that are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word good at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edgar Albert Guest