This is an analysis of the poem Hem And Haw that begins with:

Hem and Haw were the sons of sin,
Created to shally and shirk;... 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: abab Xcdc XeXe ffdf cXcX cbeb ghgh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11100101 01001011 1111111 110101 1101011101 1110111 1010110101 11001101 1101001011 10100101 1110100101 110101 111110001 1111101 110010111 10110101 1101101111 1101101 1111111111 1100101 110010101 0101111 1100101101 111101 1101011001 0010101 1100100101 0010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 136
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (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; and, of are repeated.

    The author used the same word hem 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 Hem And Haw;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Bliss William Carman