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

There was no waving. Nobody made a sound.
Ship after ship, with never a cheer or song....

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: aXaX bcbc bdbdX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11110111101 11010100111 10011101101 100101101101 11110100101 10111100101 11110101111 110100111001 01111111101 00111110111 110100110101 11011100101 111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 196
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 13
  • Average number of symbols per line: 45 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; they, and are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word there at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by A. P. Herbert