This is an analysis of the poem Ninth Inning that begins with:

He woke up in New York City on Valentine's Day,
Speeding. The body in the booth next to his was still warm,...

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: abXcaXXcaacdXbbXeeXXdX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 22,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1110111011011 10010001100111 11111001001010 1011010111011 1111010100111 11010110101001 01101010111101 1010101111110 010001101001 010011011110101 0111001010111001 111010110111010 101100101011101 11111010111101 11010101101000101 010101101001011 1011000010100101011 0011011001011 11111010101011 1110101101101010 11110010101110 100111011001000
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1273
  • Average number of words per stanza: 242
  • Amount of lines: 22
  • Average number of symbols per line: 57 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

  • summary of Ninth Inning;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by David Lehman