This is an analysis of the poem The Perfect Dinner Table that begins with:

A table cloth that's slightly soiled
Where greasy little hands have toiled; ...

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: aabbccaadd ddeeffddaa ggbbaaeeddXeeaacceeaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,10,21,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01011101 11010111 01010101 11010101 01010101 11011101 11110101 01011101 11110101 010100001 11111101 01010111 11011111 01010101 01000101 11111101 01110101 11010101 11011111 11110111 11011001 01111101 01010111 11010101 11010111 01011111 11001101 11010101 11110101 11111101 110010110 11110001 11110101 11010101 11010101 00110101 11010101 010101101 11011101 11010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 347
  • Average number of words per stanza: 64
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; and is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Perfect Dinner Table;
  • 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