This is an analysis of the poem The Little Old Man that begins with:

The little old man with the curve in his back
And the eyes that are dim and the skin that is slack,...

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: aabbcc aaddee eeccee ffeegg hhiibb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 01011001001 101111101101 11101011101 001101111111 101001111101 11001011101 101011001111 11111001001 101101001101 101011101101 110010111001 001101001011 01011011110 11101001101 101011111001 111100111011 101011101001 01101011101 101011101001 101001101101 01011001111 11011101101 11001101101 111111111111 11001111001 11101001101 111111111001 001011001101 11111011010 01011101011
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 294
  • Average number of words per stanza: 59
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 48 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; that, and, to are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Little Old Man;
  • 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