This is an analysis of the poem South Africa - 1899 that begins with:

Throned like an empress on the south-most height,
Keen, clear and brave, her eyes gaze northward far...

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 acac dede cfcf XgXg dhdX bdbd dhdh didi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 10111010111 1111011101 0111100101 1011110101 1011110101 0111010111 1001010001 0101100111 11110101001 10110101001 10110101001 1001011101 1101110101 1100010001 1011010101 1011011101 1001110101 10110100111 0101010001 1101010001 0101010111 1101111001 0101011101 0101000100 10010010111 1111000101 0111010111 1111010111 0101111101 1101010101 0100010100 1111010101 01010101001 1111110101 0100011001 0100010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 178
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (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, of, her are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of South Africa - 1899;
  • 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