This is an analysis of the poem Alaskan Balladry, No.1 that begins with:

The Northland reared his hoary head
And spied the Southland leagues away-... 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: abaX abaX cbcB dbdX bebe fbfX eXeg gdgd cdcdXfbfB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01110101 11011101 100111011 111111 10011111 11011101 11110011 111101 010110101 01010101 11011101 111111 110011101 11000101 11011101 111111 11001111001 110011101 011100101 010111 1011110111 110011101 111111101 111111 1010011101 010011101 1111100111 0110111 10011101 00100100101 010100111 01010001 110101111 111100101 011100101 1101101 011110111 10100101101 101111101 111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 145
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (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; sea, that are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word the is 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 Alaskan Balladry, No.1;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Eugene Field