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

What a terrible night! Does the Night, I wonder-
The Night, with her black veil down to her feet... 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: ababcdcd aeaefbfb ghghXbab XhXhfbfb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101001101110 0100111001 1101111110 110100111 011111010 10011101 11101110010 11111 11001101110 1010011111 11010011010 1110101110 11001101010 1110101111 101011110110 11011 1111001110 1110100101 1111111110 101101101 1111111100 10101111 0111011010 00111 1111101010 100100101 0111111010 111001011 111101010 11100111 1111101010 01101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 310
  • Average number of words per stanza: 61
  • Amount of lines: 35
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word sheet 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 Under The Sheet;
  • 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