This is an analysis of the poem On Being Broke that begins with:

Don't mind being broke at all,
When I can say that what I had...

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: ababcbcbdedXfbfbcacaegeghhhhbdbdibib
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 36,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1110111 11111111 11111101 11010101 11010101 01000101 11011101 01000101 11010101 01010101 11000101 01011101 01010111 01111101 01010101 11010101 10110101 01011111 11011101 01110101 01010111 11110101 01011101 01111101 11011101 01001001 01011111 111010101 10111101 110101001 01001101 11011101 01110111 11011101 11011101 11110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1197
  • Average number of words per stanza: 237
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; to is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of On Being Broke;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edgar Albert Guest