This is an analysis of the poem Punishment that begins with:

Their childhood is so brief that we
Should hesitate to spoil their fun, ...

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: ababacac bdbddcdc babaefef babaghgh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11101111 11010111 11010101 01111111 11010111 01011111 110101001 01110101 11110011 01011111 11010101 11010101 11010101 11011101 11010111 01000101 11001111 11010111 11010111 01010001 11110101 01001101 01111101 11010101 11010111 11010100 11111111 11011101 11110101 11110001 11110101 11110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 281
  • Average number of words per stanza: 54
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (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; should, very, so, and, we are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of Punishment;
  • 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