This is an analysis of the poem When My Ship Comes In that begins with:

You shall have satin and silk to wear,
When my ship comes in;...

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: aBaBcccB dBdBeeeB eBeBeeeB fBfBbbbB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111101101 11110 1100101101 11110 1010100111 1101101101 1011110101 11110 11101101 11110 1100101111 11110 110101101 0101110111 10100100101 11110 1100101001 11110 1101110101 11110 0111100111 0110111111 11111100101 11110 111100100 11110 111101101 11110 10111010111 10100111111 0010111101 11110
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 293
  • Average number of words per stanza: 59
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word in 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 My Ship Comes In;
  • 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