This is an analysis of the poem Our Atlas that begins with:

Not Atlas, with his shoulders bent beneath the weighty world,
Bore such a burden as this man, on whom the Gods have hurled... 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: aabb ccaa aadd eeff bbdd Xaaeedd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,7,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11000101010101 11010101110111 010011001110011 11110101010111 00010111111101 11010101011101 11011111010101 1101001110100101 01110101011001 11010001000101 110111011111010 010101011101010 11001101110101 11011101110111 110011011111001 11111101011101 01010101010111 11110001110011 0101010111010010 101101011100110 11001101011101 110100101110111 111111010101110 111001011101110 100101011111010 1101001011111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 274
  • Average number of words per stanza: 52
  • Amount of lines: 31
  • Average number of symbols per line: 52 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of Our Atlas;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox