This is an analysis of the poem On The Tower that begins with:

I stand aloft on the balcony,
The starlings around me crying,...

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: abcbdede cfcfga gahhhhijij ckckXefef
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,6,10,9,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110110100 01001110 111101111 0011001110 111110101 11111110 110111001 101001010 011111111 11011010 1100101001 01110110 1111000101 11101010 010100101 101001010 01010111 11101010 111001101 0010011110 11110001001 111010110 1110010111 101110010 010101001 1010011010 101110110 01111110 111111111 101001010 1100101110 11001110
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 248
  • Average number of words per stanza: 46
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (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; and is repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Annette Von Droste-Hulshoff