This is an analysis of the poem The Old Survey that begins with:

Our money's all spent, to the deuce went it!
The landlord, he looks glum,... 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: abcbXdD aefefdD Xgeg XdD eacaXdD
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 7,7,4,3,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 1101100110 011111 10111001011 1110101 1011110111 11101101 10011001100111 0010111101 100111 1010111111 111101 1001111101 110101 10011001100111 1100100101 110101 1110111001 0100101 110111001 0100111 10011001100111 101111101 11100111 10101110101 011111 100100011 0100101 10011001100111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 221
  • Average number of words per stanza: 41
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (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; theodolite is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word ay 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 The Old Survey;
  • 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