This is an analysis of the poem The Die-Hards: Albuera that begins with:

Close-locked in fight, - beat by battle's raging passion,
A stern wall of steel on a hillside drenched with rain,...

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: aaaabcbX dedefcfX gagafcfc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110111101010 011011011101 110100111010 111011111101 1111011101110 1011111111 1110110101010 11101011 01001101011100 1101110001 10110110111010 10111110101011 111110101110 1111011101 110111100010 11101011 0110110111010 10010010101 100111001110 1001101001 101111111110 101001101 100101101010 101101011
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 416
  • Average number of words per stanza: 78
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 51 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; and, them, they, their are repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word ' 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 Die-Hards: Albuera;
  • 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