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

A man of low degree was sore oppressed,
Fate held him under iron-handed sway,...

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: ababaa cXcbdd aaaaee ffffXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 0101011101 1111010101 1101111101 1111010011 1110011100 11001010101 1101011101 1101111100 1101000101 1101110001 1101011101 0101111101 1101111101 1111110101 1111011111 0111110111 1111001101 01110000011 1101111101 1101110111 1001010101 1101110101 11110011001 11110111100
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 276
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 45 (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; him is repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar