This is an analysis of the poem Parable of the Hostages that begins with:

The Greeks are sitting on the beach
wondering what to do when the war ends. No one ...

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: XabccXdefgaXgXaheefijcXhXaggdhXfhfijdgjkkb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 42,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01110101 100101101111 10111 01101010110101 0110011 11011101001110 10010110010 0011101 100100100 0111001 010101001010 0110101 101 110101001 110010110 1011000111 1011010111 110110111 01011100010 01110101 0011101011 10010101 0101100101 0101001 011000101 1010100101110 100110010001 1111000101000010 11010100100 11011011101 011100110100 111110100100010111000 010001011001 0110000100 110100110101 11011 1010001011 010100 010011111 101110 1101010101010 1111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1659
  • Average number of words per stanza: 299
  • Amount of lines: 42
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (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; to, their are repeated.

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

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Louise Gluck