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

We had many problems set us when Coolgardie was a camp,
When the journey to the goldfields meant a coach-fare or a tramp;... 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: aabbccccddeeffgg hhXX ddXgiib bd dggjjbbXfgg XdbXiiXg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,4,7,2,11,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 11101011110101 101000111011101 111010101010101 101010101010101 110010101010101 101010101010001 11110101010011 01110101010001 0111101010101 11101010110001 01010100010011 01011101000101 10101010110001 11010111110101 111110111110001 011011101010101 1010100101011101 1011101001111101 1010111001111101 100111001110111 101011101000101 11001111110001 110010111011100 11000100110101 01010101010111 11010100111101 1011101001010111 01010101110101 101010101010001 11110101101101 110011101110101 111001010101001 01111101011101 101010101011101 111110101110101 01011101110111 0100101010101100 011101101110001 1110100110101 111010100010101 11010111110001 101011101010001 11111111110001 0111101010101010 01010101010111 010111111101001 101010101010111 101010101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 490
  • Average number of words per stanza: 89
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • Average number of symbols per line: 60 (very long strings)
  • 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; to, we, at, and, smiths, there, it are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word smith 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 Smiths;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Edwin Greenslade Murphy