This is an analysis of the poem The Waiting Head that begins with:

If I really am walking with ordinary habit
past the same rest home on the same local street ...

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: aabaacddcaeXaeffbgcc gX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,2,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 01101100101010 10111101101 110101011110110 1111111 10110000101 11011011101 1111100101 111110101001 00101111101 010101100101 1111111011 1011101 1000100110001 110100110101 110101110111 1010111011101 111101001110 100101100101 0011011101 1111010101 1111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 468
  • Average number of words per stanza: 92
  • Amount of lines: 22
  • 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; on, to, it, i are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Waiting Head;
  • 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