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

I saw a man who knelt in prayer,
And heard him say:... 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 dbdB ebeB bbbB fbfB ebeB gBgX hbhX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11011101 1111 11110101 01 11010101 1111 11011101 01 11110101 1101 01011101 01 11010101 1101 01001100 01 11110111 0101 01000101 01 11011101 1101 01011111 01 10011101 1101 11110101 01 11010101 1111 11110101 01 11101111 1101 11111101 01
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 86
  • Average number of words per stanza: 19
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 21 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; to is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same words day, ' 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 To-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