This is an analysis of the poem The Unknown Soldier that begins with:

I was a minuteman at Concord Bridge,
I was a frigate-gunner on Lake Erie,...

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: abaccb Dcdcee bXbfXf XgXgDd hihicc jhjhgg fXfdkk
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101011111 11010101110 1101001101 1111111101 11010010101 0101010100 1111001011 11011000101 10101010101 1101111111 01010101101100 100100100101 11010010100 101100101000 1101101100 10010101001 11010111010 1111010001 11101011100 0101000101 1101100100 1101100101 1111001011 1111011101 01011100111 0111010101 0111010001 0111110101 01001001100 1101 1110011111 01010011001 1010101100101 1001011111 11110100011 110001 11001101101 00101101000 11010111111 11001011111 1101111111 10101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 254
  • Average number of words per stanza: 46
  • Amount of lines: 42
  • 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; i, at, of, their, and, as are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Unknown Soldier;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Melvin Beaunorus Tolson