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

WHAT is balm for a soul distressed, O! sailor tell to me ?
“A good ship in a fighting wind glad of an angry sea....

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: aaXX bbXX aaXX aaXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 10110101110101 00100101101101 01010111010111 10111110110111 10110101110111 011101001010111 01010111011011 10111110110110 10010110110101 01101101010101 11011001110101 1110111011101 11101110111111 11110101010101 11011111110111 01010101110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 240
  • Average number of words per stanza: 48
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 59 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word ' 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 Sister;
  • 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