This is an analysis of the poem Afternoon that begins with:

Small, shapeless drifts of cloud
Sail slowly northward in the soft-hued sky,... 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: abcaXc defddf ghfghf dfedfe icbXcXXccicci
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,13,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 110101 1101000111 0111110101 1011011101 1101101110 001111 1001111 0101110101 0101010111 1111111111 01001110101 010111 111111 0111010101 0101010101 0011010101 0101010001 110101 110101 10010100101 1111010101 10011010101 0101111101 010100 111100 10000010101 1101010111 0011001101 0101010111 010100 101101 1101001101 01010100010 0111010101 0101111101 0101010
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 234
  • Average number of words per stanza: 40
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (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; of, to, no are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Afternoon;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Emma Lazarus