1887 by Alfred Edward Housman: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem 1887 that begins with:

From Clee to heaven the beacon burns,
The shires have seen it plain, ... full text

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: abab cbcb adad cece XdXd bfbf gdgdXcbcb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 010100101 011101 01110101 110101 11110111 011101 01110001 111101 110111110 010111 11010101 110101 01111101 011101 01011101 011111 01010111 111111 10110101 010101 11011111 011101 110010111 011101 1010101101 010111 10011101 100101 11010111 010110 11011101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 136
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of 1887;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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