This is an analysis of the poem The Free Trader's Lament that begins with:

Oft from a trading-boat I purchased spice
And shells and corals, brought for my inspection... 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: abaaX bbbbb cbccb bbbbb dXXdX abXab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1001011101 11110111010 0011010101 1110011101 11010101100 11111011101 11010101010 1011100101 10001111101 01010100010 1101010111 11011000110 0101011101 1101001101 0110100010 1111110101 11011100010 1100010001 0101110111 01010100010 1100010101 01011101000 1111011111 1101011101 01011111100 1111011101 11110011010 11111101010 1101111111 01001111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 214
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; and, of, ' are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word protection 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 The Free Trader's Lament;
  • 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