This is an analysis of the poem The Dead Heart that begins with:

After I wrote this, a friend scrawled on this page, “Yes.”
And I said, merely to myself, “I wish it could be for a ...

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: a XbX ccdefffghcX difeXfjbfhXgcfacegjib
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,3,11,21,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101100111011 111100111101010 1001010101101 1111101 001010 10001011 00101 0111110111 001011110101 00101011111 00011 000101 00010 11010100 100110101 1011111010 11101010 11101 10101010110 0111 1010 1110010110101 010011 111110111 0101111110010 1001 11010 11001101110 111010110 0110110 000011 010011 01011 01 01101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 227
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 35
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, yes, and, it are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words it, i are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Dead Heart;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Anne Sexton