This is an analysis of the poem Sheep-Killer that begins with:

I should have known, when I undid his chain,
That darkness had been busy at his brain...

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: aabbccdde ffeegghh ccaaiijj eekklleXe cceejjmmnn aakkoohXhoo
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,8,8,9,10,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1111110101 1101010101 1111010001 1111010111 0001101111 1101110111 11110100101 0111011111 0110100 1111 1101010101 0100011111 010101011 0100111101 0101010101 1100010111 0111010111 1111111101 1101110111 1111000111 1101111101 1101110011 0101010011 10111011110 11000101010 1111011111 0011110101 1001010101 0110110111 1001010011 0111010001 1110010101 10111111001 0111111111 1101000111 1101000101 1100010101 1111110101 01011111110 11111111010 1101110101 0100110011 1111011101 1101110101 1111010110 1001110101 1111010101 1011110101 11111101010 10110101010 11110111101 1101011101 1111010001 1011011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 331
  • Average number of words per stanza: 66
  • Amount of lines: 54
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same words i, he at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of Sheep-Killer;
  • 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 G Moll