This is an analysis of the poem A Merciful Governor that begins with:

Standing within the triple wall of Hell,
And flattening his nose against a grate... 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: ababbaXX cdcddcXX aeaeeaXX bbbbbXbX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1001010101 1100010101 0111011101 0101010011 10100010101 1011110111 11010100110 01010001100 0100110011 1101001111 1100010101 1101010001 1111101101 0101110101 01011001110 11111001010 1001010001 11001010001 1001010111 0101001101 1001010101 1101010001 11110001010 11110001000 1011000101 0101010101 0100011101 00101011101 11110000101 1011010110 11010100010 11001111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 334
  • Average number of words per stanza: 59
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (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; his, of, it are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word ' at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of A Merciful Governor;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ambrose Bierce