Counting The Mad by Donald Justice: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Counting The Mad that begins with:

This one was put in a jacket,
This one was sent home, ...

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: aXabCD XXXXCD XXbbcD
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01110010 01111 01110111 1111 10111111 111 0111010 110001 01111011 01110 10111111 111 0110101 0101 10110101 110101 11111111 111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 161
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 23 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; this, one, no, and are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word this at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines man is repeated).

    The poet repeated the same word long 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 Counting The Mad;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Donald Justice

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