This is an analysis of the poem Written After Spending A Day At West Point that begins with:

Were they but dreams? Upon the darkening world
Evening comes down, the wings of fire are furled, ... 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: aXbbccddeefXggbbffhhfXeeaahhbbiijjiihhh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 39,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 01110101001 101101010110 1101100101 0111010111 1001010101 11010110101 0111110101 11010111101 1101001101 0101010101 1101100101 1011000101 1101110111 10110010111 1011011101 1011010101 0101010101 1111110111 1111101111 1001011101 0101010101 0101010101 01010111001 11110111001 01110011111 01110100101 11000101001 0111010111 0011011101 1111100101 1101011101 1111110101 1001010101 0100010001 01110010001 0011000101 0101111101 010011100111 0111110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1802
  • Average number of words per stanza: 317
  • Amount of lines: 39
  • Average number of symbols per line: 45 (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; and, where, gone, of are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words and, the are repeated.

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

  • summary of Written After Spending A Day At West Point;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Frances Anne Kemble