This is an analysis of the poem Hard Luck that begins with:

I left the course, and by my side
There walked a ruined tout -- ... 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: ababcdcd aXaX baba edeX aXaX fdfd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11011111 110101 01010101 110101 10101110101 010001 10110101 011111 101110110 110101 11111101 011111 101010111 110001 11111111 110101 101111110 110101 11011101 110101 101010111 010101 11010011 1101110 01110111 011101 11010101 0101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 148
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word i 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 Hard Luck;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Banjo Paterson