This is an analysis of the poem The Ballade Of The Automobile that begins with:

When our yacht sails seaward on steady keel
And the wind is moist with breath of brine... 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: abXBbbbB abaBbbbB abaBXbbB X bBbB Xb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,1,4,2,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111101101 101010101 1110101011 11100100101 10100001110 1101101101 10011001101 1110100101 11111011011 0011101111 1010110101 11100100101 111111101 00100100101 010100111 1110100101 1010110101 1111100101 1011100111 11100100101 1101000110 001111111 110110111 1110100101 10 11111101 11100100101 1110011001 1110100101 0101110
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 192
  • Average number of words per stanza: 37
  • Amount of lines: 31
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • 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; of, our are repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word gasoline 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 The Ballade Of The Automobile;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ellis Parker Butler