This is an analysis of the poem The Man Who X-Rayed An Orange that begins with:

Viewed from the top, he said, it was like a wheel,
the paper-thin spokes raying out from the hub...

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: abcdeafegXXeeXhegcciXeeXjgjfhdXbci
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 34,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 10011101101 01011101001 00101001001 01110001001 111010010110 111100111010 101010101 010101011 010100111111 101100101110 110101010011 11000100111 0101001001010 1110010100001 01111101100 11010011011 11101101010 10101011101 1001011111 001010101101 1110100101 01010111101 0100010101001 0100011010110 1110111010 101010100110 1000100101010 0111001101 001011011110 1010111101010 1110100110011 0100011101 100101011 010100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1521
  • Average number of words per stanza: 267
  • Amount of lines: 34
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Man Who X-Rayed An Orange;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Fleur Adcock