This is an analysis of the poem The Same Old Strain that begins with:

Each day that I live I am persuaded anew,
A maxim I long have believed in, is true.... 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 ccdd eeXdef gXhh ddii bbff XdgXXg bbjj Xccdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,6,4,4,4,6,4,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 111111101001 01011101001 11111000101 11101011011 111101011001 11001011001 11001001001 11101001001 11101111001 111011011101 110101010011 11 1 11101011 1010010110001 11101111101 111001001111 111110100101 11001101101 001011111101 101011001101 101101101001 11101011101 001011111001 1111111001 1001011011001 11001011011 101011001101 11001011111 0101101 10 11 1101111101 001001101101 01101001011 01001101101 1100111101 01101011001 11101001011 01011011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 191
  • Average number of words per stanza: 38
  • Amount of lines: 46
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; i, of, he, his, it are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Same Old Strain;
  • 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