This is an analysis of the poem Johnson’s Antidote that begins with:

Down along the Snakebite River, where the overlanders camp,
Where the serpents are in millions, all of the most deadly stamp; ... 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: aAbbbbccddcceeffggcc hhiihhcccc jjXdffccddcc jjddccffaaeecc bbeeiieecc aAkkcc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,10,12,14,10,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 101011101010001 101010101001101 1010101010100111 101010101010101 101011001010101 1010101001010111 101010101110101 101110101011101 101011001011101 101010101100101 111010101010111 101110101110101 1110001010001011 11111101010111 1111101110111 11010101010101 101110101110101 111010101110101 101011101010111 101001101010101 101010101110111 11101101000101 011111101110111 10101101000101 101011111110101 1110010100110111 111010101011111 101000101100101 101010001010101 111111101010101 100010101010101 1010101001110101 101010101011100 101010101110111 001111100010100 1010011100010111 101010101011101 101010101010101 0010100101010111 101010101110111 111110101111101 001110101011101 111000101010101 111010101010011 101011111011001 101010100110111 1011101110101111 111011111110101 101010100110101 101101101111101 101011101011101 111011101010101 011110111010100 011111101010111 111110111110101 111111101010101 101010100010110 101010101110101 11101010100101 101010101010101 1011101011101101 101111101011111 101010101010111 101011101010101 101011111011101 101110100110101 101010101010001 101010101001101 1010101010111001 101001101011101 111000101010111 111010010011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 777
  • Average number of words per stanza: 138
  • Amount of lines: 76
  • Average number of symbols per line: 61 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; where, and, pfeller, him, his, men, of, he, when, to, i, you, it are repeated.

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines is repeated).

    The poet repeated the same word antidote at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase connects the lines.

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

  • summary of Johnson’s Antidote;
  • 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