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

You say, John Irish, Mr. Taylor hath
A painted beard. Quite likely that is true,... 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: ababcc bdbdee fcfcXX adadcc gcgcee
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111010101 0101110101 1111001111 1110110001 11010111010 11011100010 0101010101 1010111111 1111000111 010100111 10010100010 11011101010 1101010101 0111010101 1011000101 1101110001 01110100010 11010101010 1101011101 11010100101 1001001001 0101010101 11001111010 110110101110 1100010101 1100010001 0111111111 101111101 11111111110 101011001110
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 251
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; you, in are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Barking Weasel;
  • 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