This is an analysis of the poem Thesaurus that begins with:

It could be the name of a prehistoric beast
that roamed the Paleozoic earth, rising up...

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: XXaX bccdcbacef bXgXgec fXbdcb hhedXXcb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,10,7,6,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 010010010101 110100101101 10110110101010 111000110100000001 01100100101 1110101100 0111100100010 111101 1101101011 110011110110 1001101010110 11001111011 011010011010 1011001101101 110010101101 010101010111010 110011011001 110010001 10000100011010 10010001011011 10111001011111 111111011011 1101000111101 11101011011110 01101110100111 10111010111 11010010011 111011111101 011001011001 1000111011 01000101001 1011110010010 10110101101010 011011011 010110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 330
  • Average number of words per stanza: 58
  • Amount of lines: 35
  • Average number of symbols per line: 46 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, i are repeated.

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

    The author used the same words it, 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 Thesaurus;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Billy Collins