This is an analysis of the poem The Sacred Fire that begins with:

They lit a fire within their land that long was ashes cold,
With splendid dreams they made it glow, threw in their hearts of gold....

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: aabbccdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 110100111111101 01011101101101 11110101111101 11111101111101 111101010111101 11111101110001 11010011100101 01111101011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 515
  • Average number of words per stanza: 100
  • Amount of lines: 8
  • Average number of symbols per line: 64 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 13
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Sacred Fire;
  • 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