This is an analysis of the poem The Return Of The Prodigal that begins with:

I rode into Pincher River on an August afternoon -
The pinto's hoofs on the prairie drumming a drowsy tune -...

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: aaa bbX ccX ddd eeX eXe bbX bbX aaX ffX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110010101110101 01011010100101 10110111000100001 1010011100110111 101101101110001 1011111100111111 11111100101111 111111011001001 111111101100101 110111101101101 1011110101011111 11101111011101001 110101111101001 100111001100101 11101010101100 1101001011011011 110010111110110110 11101101010111111 111001101011101 1110101011011011 01101101001011110 1111010111011 101010110111011 1010111101110010 11111111111111 011100101101011 11101101011110 1111111111101 0110100101001001 0100110110111001
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 192
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 63 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 13
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, i, she, me are repeated.

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

    The author used the same words i, 'here at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    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 Return Of The Prodigal;
  • 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