This is an analysis of the poem The Nightmare Tarn that begins with:

I sat beside the moonless tarn alone,
In darkness where a mumbling air was blown—...

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: aabbccccddaacceeffggd dhhccXfffaaaabbiihh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 21,19,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1101010101 01010100111 0101100001 0101010111 0011110101 0101010101 111011101 10001010111 11011111101 01010010101 0101010111 0101010111 1101110011 1011011101 1101100101 0111010001 1111010101 1111111101 10110011101 0100110011 1111010101 1101100011 1101010011 1111011101 1101110001 0110110101 11011100101 1111010111 0101110001 1010010101 1010111111 0101010111 1101011101 1101110111 1111110101 0111010101 1111110111 1111010101 1111110101 0101110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 858
  • Average number of words per stanza: 162
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Nightmare Tarn;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Clark Ashton Smith