This is an analysis of the poem Real Lessons that begins with:

These are the lessons I would learn,
Not how to climb above all men, ...

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: aaaabcdc efefbbbb babaeaeaXacacbfdf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,17,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11010111 11010111 11010101 11010101 11111110 01010101 11111100 11110101 11110101 11011101 01100001 11011101 01111001 01110100 10010111 01110101 01111001 11011011 10111001 10110110 010001011 01110111 10010111 11111111 1110111 00110111 11110011 01011101 11011100 11101111 10110100 10011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 265
  • Average number of words per stanza: 55
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • 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; how, not, to, i, from are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words not, and, to are repeated.

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

  • summary of Real Lessons;
  • 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