This is an analysis of the poem What Had He Done? that begins with:

I saw the farmer, when the day was done,
And the proud sun had sought his crimson bed,... 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: ababCX bbaX XbXbCc ddXX ababCX ddbb ceceCX bbff cacXcc Xddaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,4,6,4,6,4,6,4,6,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101010111 1011110101 1011110111 1101010111 111101 1101 1111010101 1111000101 1101010101 0111010111 1101100101 1111010111 11010111010 1101011111 111101 1111 1111111101 1101110101 1111110111 0101010001 1101010111 1101100111 1101110101 1101010111 111101 1101 1111110101 11011101101 1101010111 1101010111 1101010111 1111010001 1111010101 1101011101 111101 1001 1010010101 1101010101 1111011111 1101010101 0110011101 1111111101 11110111101 1111111110 111101 0011 1101010111 1101010101 1101010101 1101000111
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 194
  • Average number of words per stanza: 39
  • Amount of lines: 59
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word ' 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 What Had He Done?;
  • 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