This is an analysis of the poem Election Day that begins with:

Despots effete upon tottering thrones
Unsteadily poised upon dead men's bones,... 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: XabbaaXXXaccaabbdd eecceecc ffggaaXbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 18,8,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 10010110010 1000101111 111101001 10100100111 1001011011 1000111001 100101100 1100100101 1001110110 1001001011 1001001101 1100101001 1010001001 101101111 100100101 11001001001 10111001001 11011001101 1101000101 11001001001 11001101001 0100100101 101011101 0010100101 110000101 100100111 01001001001 1001011011 1010100101 1110000101 111001001 1101100101 111001001 010110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 329
  • Average number of words per stanza: 52
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (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; of, and are repeated.

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

  • summary of Election Day;
  • 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