This is an analysis of the poem The Black Horseman that begins with:

Lift me up from this bed of sickness;
I am going out to meet the summer....

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: abcbc adedc fegec Xgfgc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111001010 1110101010 1010001011 10110001110 1011110110 111100111 111100110 1010110110 101101010 1110110110 111111010 0011111110 1001110101 11011111110 11111110110 11111111011 1111101010 11111101010 110101111010 1101100010110
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 211
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; i is repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word horseman 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 The Black Horseman;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Dora Sigerson Shorter