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

There is sorrow in the household;
There's a grief too hard to bear;...

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: ababcddDaacaXdadcaaaddXDdeXeXdXd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 32,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: enclosed rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 10100011 1011101 10101111 1010101 11110010 1010101 10101010 1011101 01101110 1010101 11101010 0110101 00101110 1110111 10101010 1010101 00101110 1010101 11101010 1111111 10101011 1010111 10111010 1011101 10101011 1110101 00111011 1011111 10110110 0001101 0111010 1110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1025
  • Average number of words per stanza: 192
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; there's, it are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word there's is repeated.

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase it connects the lines.

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

  • summary of The Broken Drum;
  • 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