This is an analysis of the poem British Merchant Service that begins with:

Oh, down by Millwall Basin as I went the other day,
I met a skipper that I knew, and to him I did say: ...

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: aaa XXb ccc ddd aaa eee ddd bbbXaaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11110101110101 11010111101101 1001110111101 11011111110110 0100010011010 001011101010111 0111110011100101 1111101110111 11110111110101 10010101110111 110101011010001 11011101110101 0111011001111 11111111111010 101100111011011 101011111010011 11110101011111101 1111010010011101001 101000111101001 01011101110011 111011010011010101 11110101110111 110010100110101 11100100101010101 0111011110111 111111111110110 1011001111011011
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 189
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 27
  • Average number of symbols per line: 63 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 13
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, and, to, m, job, he, as, of, s, in are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words with, he are repeated.

    The author used the same words oh, he 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 British Merchant Service;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Cicely Fox Smith