This is an analysis of the poem The Things They Mustn'T Touch that begins with:

Been down to the art museum an' looked at a thousand things,
The bodies of ancient mummies an' the treasures of ancient kings,...

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: aabX ccdd eebb ffgg eebX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 010010101110101 0100101010100101 1100101011001101 111010101110111 110110101110101 1010011101100101 111001010010111 1010010101110101 111110100100111 1011110101100111 110111101101111 1100101010111101 011010101100101 110010101110101 1111010101100101 1111100101100111 111110100100111 111011100101101 1111101010111111 01111010110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 258
  • Average number of words per stanza: 51
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 64 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 13
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of, an', i are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Things They Mustn'T Touch;
  • 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