This is an analysis of the poem Last Week that begins with:

Oh, the new-chum went to the backblock run,
But he should have gone there last week. ... 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: abaabCbdbddbCb ebeebCb fbXfbcb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,7,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1011100101 11111111 1111000101 10100111001 11110111 11 10100111 1100100101 11111111 1100100111 1011110111 11111111 11 1101111 1110111101 1110111 1011100101 11100111101 10111111 11 1100111 111101011001 0100111 011011111000 11100100101 1110111 11 1101111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 343
  • Average number of words per stanza: 68
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (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; there, he, and are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of Last Week;
  • 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