This is an analysis of the poem When It's Bad To Forget that begins with:

DID you ever meet a brother as you hurried on your way
And invite him up to dinner, and his wife; ...

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: ababXcXc dadaefef ghghafaf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 011010101110111 10111010101 011011100111101 11101011101 0110111110111010 101011111010 011011100111111 11010111010 011011101110101 11101110101 111010100101111 0111010101 101011101011101 101000111010 1110111000100011 111011111010 111111101111111 111111101110 111101101010101 10011011110 011100101111100 111110101010 011010101111111 001110111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 415
  • Average number of words per stanza: 86
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 51 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you, to, it, and, as, your, i, for, not, my, i'd are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word did at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word coming at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of When It's Bad To Forget;
  • 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