This is an analysis of the poem The Little White Hearse that begins with:

Somebody’s baby was buried to-day –
The empty white hearse from the grave rumbled back, ... 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: abaab cdccd cecce faffa gegge
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 10001011001 01011001101 101011111011 1111011101101 101111101101 10001011101 1101011001 101101011001 111101101101 01011101101 1101011001 1001011101 1101101011 1101001011 10001001011 10001001011 11101111001 101011011101 01011001101 001011111001 11101101011 111101011011 11011111001 11001001011 101011101111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 235
  • Average number of words per stanza: 46
  • Amount of lines: 25
  • Average number of symbols per line: 46 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, somebody, i are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word somebody at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The Little White Hearse;
  • 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