This is an analysis of the poem Sailor's Delight that begins with:

Tall raking clipper ships driving hell-for-leather,
Swinging down the Forties in the easting weather;...

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: aabbccdX eefdX eeggddhh iiXdX ddddddff iifdX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,5,8,5,8,5,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110101101110 101010001010 11010010110 011100101101110 1100101011 11101010001 10001010111 0010101010101 10011101010 100111010010 10101100001001 00110110101111 1111011011111 111110011 101010111101 111100110111 101011010001 1000111101 10110010111 1101011001 101110001001 10011101010 100110101110 111110010100 00110110101011 1111011011111 110100010110 11010111110 10010101010 111010101110 10111101010 1110100101010 110111011101 010101110101 10011101010 10010111000 10111011111 001101111110011 1110111011111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 344
  • Average number of words per stanza: 62
  • Amount of lines: 39
  • Average number of symbols per line: 52 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines in, with are repeated).

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

  • summary of Sailor's Delight;
  • 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