This is an analysis of the poem The Groans Of The Tankard that begins with:

OF strange events I sing, and portents dire;
The wond'rous themes a reverent ear require;... 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: abcc bbddee ffgXhhiihhjjaaii hh ddkkaaggjjbaffee cc hhXcddffeeaagg bbd dllaaffddeejjggjX hhiijXjj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,6,16,2,16,2,14,3,17,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 01011111110 010101001010 1101010101 1111010101 11010101110 11010001010 1011010101 1011000101 1101010101 1101010101 1101001101 1111010101 1101010101 0101010110 1111110101 1101010101 0101010001 0011001111 1101010001 1111010101 0101010101 1011010101 1101010101 1101011111 11101010101 111101110101 11011110001 11010101001 1111010101 1101011101 11001110101 11010010101 1101000101 11010101001 1101010101 1101010101 11010100111 1101010101 11010001010 1101011101 1011010101 1101000101 11011100111 1101010111 1101010101 1111110101 1101010101 10001110101 11010001001 1101010101 11010111001 1111010101 1110110101 1011001001 11100100101 11001000101 10010100101 1101010101 10110101001 111110010101 10011101010 11100100010 1001010001 1101010111 11011100101 1101110101 1100010101 111101011 1111011101 1111010101 1101000101 1101110101 1101010101 1111010101 1011010101 1101011101 1101010101 11110110101 1101010101 1111010110 1101011101 11010101000 01110111001 0101010101 1101010101 10110101100 1111010101 1011000101
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 391
  • Average number of words per stanza: 67
  • Amount of lines: 88
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (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, with, this are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words when, 'the, 'and, 'whose are repeated.

    The author used the same word 'let at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The Groans Of The Tankard;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Anna Laetitia Barbauld