This is an analysis of the poem Slain that begins with:

Hollow a grave where the willows wave,
And lay him under the grasses,... 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: abbb cddd deXe XXXX dXfX XcXcXfbab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 100110111 11110010 101001101001 110011010 10100110101 01001010 1111011101 1001010 1111001001 11111010 0011100101 10010010 10100110111 11110101 0101110111 0111101 11101101001 10110101 11101101010 101001010 11111111 11001010 1110101101 10101010 11101111011 1010110010 01011101111 10111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 156
  • Average number of words per stanza: 31
  • Amount of lines: 28
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Slain;
  • 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