This is an analysis of the poem Twenty Years that begins with:

Beg your pardon, old fellow! I think
I was dreaming just now when you spoke.... 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: aaaaa bcbbc dedde fffff gagga hihhi
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111011011 111011111 01001001 001111101 01011001 111001011 101001111 111011101 01001001 001101001 101011101 101011011 101011001 111001111 111001001 111101011 11111001 11101111 11101011 11011101 11011111 101011111 11101001 000111001 111011111 100101011 100111001 101111111 101011101 11101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 185
  • Average number of words per stanza: 37
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (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; i, and, that are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word then 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 Twenty Years;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Francis Bret Harte