This is an analysis of the poem Clean Hands that begins with:

IT is something to face the sun and know you are free.
To hold your head in the shafts of daylight slanting the earth...

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: XaXbccXcbXXbaXc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 15,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: rondeau
  • Metre: 0010010111111 01110010111001 11111101010111 0010 01110110111011 1101101100100101 11111101001110 10111 10010 11011 1010010101101 1011111000110 1110101111110101000111011010101101101011001001 11110011101110110100111100101011101011 110111010101110111001001100011011101101110101101001011011
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1152
  • Average number of words per stanza: 229
  • Amount of lines: 15
  • Average number of symbols per line: 76 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 15
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of Clean Hands;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Carl Sandburg