This is an analysis of the poem Do Not Proceed Beyond This Point without a Guide that begins with:

The official warning, nailed to a hemlock,
Doesn't say why. I stand with my back to it,...

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: abcad XbXeX ffbXc dfedd bXdbc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 00101010011 10111101100 011111111 1101011 101101010111 01010110111 110101010 11011111010 1111010101 011101101 110110010101 10110101110 111010101 10010101110 11111101010 1110110011 10111100110 100101111110 10111111 1100111111 01011000100001 11010111111 01111101101 11111011111 1001010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 214
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 25
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (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; to, my, and, it are repeated.

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

  • summary of Do Not Proceed Beyond This Point without a Guide;
  • 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 Wagoner