The Bad Year by Edward William Thomson: poem analysis

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

MAY, blighted by keen frosts, passed on to June
No blooms, but many a stalk with drooping leaves,... full text

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: ababc dXdec ec dfd fXc XX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,2,3,3,2,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101111101 11110010101 1101010111 1101011101 1001010101 1101011111 1011011111 1101111101 1101010111 1111011101 10001111101 1100000101 0111100111 1101010101 1111010101 1111011111 110001010011 0111011001 0101010101 1111111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 151
  • Average number of words per stanza: 27
  • Amount of lines: 21
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; her is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Bad Year;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edward William Thomson

Poems about...
✕