This is an analysis of the poem Ballade Of Unfortunate Mammals that begins with:

Love is sharper than stones or sticks;
Lone as the sea, and deeper blue;...

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: ababbcbC ababbcbC ababbcbC XXbcbC
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,6,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10101111 11011101 100110111 101101001 11011111 11010101 10111111 1011001001 10010111 10011111 11100111 10100101 11101111 11100111 10111101 1011001001 10101101 10010101 11100101 10110101 10100101 101001001 100100101 1011001001 10 10111111 10100101 10101101 1011001001
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 197
  • Average number of words per stanza: 36
  • Amount of lines: 29
  • Average number of symbols per line: 33 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

  • summary of Ballade Of Unfortunate Mammals;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Dorothy Parker