This is an analysis of the poem An Apt Pupil that begins with:

Knockin' about (said Benny, the Tough)
By the Rocks an' Woolloomooloo,... full text

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: aXaXbbbb cdXdbbbB efefgbgB eeeegbgB ghghebeb gXgXcXcb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 100111001 10111000 111011101 10100101 1001011001 11111001 101011101 110101 11011110 1110111 100111110 1001111 111110101 0111101 100111101 110111 1011111011 1001001 0100100011 10101001 0100100101 1010111 101011101 110111 100100011 1001011 101000101 0011101 100100111 10101111 1001111101 110111 110111101 11111111 11001001001 1011111 1110100011 11101111 011011101 110111 1010011111 11101111 11100101101 111011001 11100111111 11110111 1110011101 110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 281
  • Average number of words per stanza: 57
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word glad 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 An Apt Pupil;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis