This is an analysis of the poem The Sad Years that begins with:

Thou hast encompassed us, indeed, O Lord,
With these sad years. Where does the failure lie...

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: aXXbXXXXaXa cccccccc adddba
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 11,8,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101010111 0110110101 0011101101 0101010001 11011100011 1101011011 1110111101 0101111101 0011011011 1111111101 0101010101 111101010 1111010010 111101010 10101010010 111101010 1010101010 111101010 1011101010 0001111111 0011011111 11010111010 0101111100 0111001101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 369
  • Average number of words per stanza: 61
  • Amount of lines: 25
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; thy, and, to, hands, feet, cries, hearts, these are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words hearts, is are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Sad Years;
  • 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