This is an analysis of the poem The Loss Of The Birkenhead that begins with:

Silent they stood upon that stranded wreck
Fast on a hidden shoal,...

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: aXaXXbcXXb dbdbcbXXcbXbcbcbbbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,19,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1011011101 110101 1101010101 111101 1111010110 110111 1100010001 0 100 11 10101101101 100111 1111110101 110101 1101010101 110101 101 100 1101 110111 1101111101 110101 1011010101 010100 1001010111 010101 1111110111 110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 281
  • Average number of words per stanza: 51
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word down 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 Loss Of The Birkenhead;
  • 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