This is an analysis of the poem The Stately Blackwaller that begins with:

She hauled through the dock-gates when morning was young
And chill on the water the river mist hung,...

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: aaXb ccbB ddbB eebB ffbb ggbB ccXe eehh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 11101111011 11101001011 101101011010 101010011001 01011101101 11011011101 111101001001 01010011001 111101011011 11011001101 010011010001 01010011001 11101011001 01011001101 111001001011 01010011001 11011011001 110011011011 11011011101 001010011001 11001111001 01011001001 001101101011 01010011001 100111101101 11111011001 110110011011 01010011011 101000111001 01011001101 111001101001 01010001111
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 190
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 47 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, to, by, her, of are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word away 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 Stately Blackwaller;
  • 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