This is an analysis of the poem The Cape Horner that begins with:

I never was in clipper ships when they was in their prime:
The tea fleet an' the wool fleet, they was done afore my time:...

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: aabbXc XDXC eeffcc bbcccc ggXXcc eeggcc XDXC
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,4,6,6,6,6,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11010101111011 01110111111011 011101101110 100010111010 101010111000 10101010101 101101110110101 101011010101 10101011010 101110110101 111110110111 110111000100111 011010101110101 1101011110101 11010101011001 10101010101 1110101011100010 1011101001111010 01111101110110 11101101111111 0111101010011101 1110101010101 11111101101111 101111101111111 101110101010100 01011000010101 1010101001101011 10111010101 1101110101 10111011111 10111011111 100111110001 10110110111 110111010001 101101110110101 101011010101 10101011010 101110110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 298
  • Average number of words per stanza: 56
  • Amount of lines: 38
  • Average number of symbols per line: 54 (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, 'e, an', and are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word she at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word ago at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of The Cape Horner;
  • 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