This is an analysis of the poem The Hill that begins with:

Where are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom, and Charley,
The weak of will, the strong of arm, the clown, the boozer, the fighter? ...

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: abC bdccXC edC efcbXXC adgdC XgXC hhgddXfii
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,6,3,7,5,4,9,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11101011110 0100010101010010 11110101 110010 111001 111001 1101 110011011011 111101010101 11101110110 0101010101010101 11110101 1101011 100101 11010010010 100101001101010 1101010110110 11001011101111 111101010101 11101011100 11101111010 11010111 01001001010 11110101 11011001 1101111 111010010 111101010101 1011001 110110100 1001011 1010010100111 1111110 111000110101 001101011101 011101 11111
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 222
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 37
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; one, in, all, sleeping, of, and, nor are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word hill 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 The Hill;
  • 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 Lee Masters