This is an analysis of the poem The Sea-Change that begins with:

Where river and ocean meet in a great tempestuous frown,
Beyond the bar, where on the dunes the white-capped rollers break;... 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: ababab cdcdcd efefef
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 110110100111001 01011101011101 011111011010101 1011110101110111 11111101010011 111101010100101 10111100111111 11101111110111 01010011111101 001110111110011 10110101111101 11110111111101 1011110111110111 111111110110101 111011111101101 1110101111111111 11110111111101 01010111101101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 372
  • Average number of words per stanza: 74
  • Amount of lines: 18
  • Average number of symbols per line: 61 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, on, have, i, to, my, thy are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Sea-Change;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ernest Christopher Dowson