This is an analysis of the poem The Average Man that begins with:

His hat looks worn, and his coat-sleeves shine,
As I see him step from his ’bus at nine;... 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: aabbccaabbddeeaa ddffaaaa gghhffaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 011110111 1111100111 011110111 1010110111 1010110101 1011110111 111110111 10101111001 1111111111 1010100111 111110101 110010011 111101101 111101111 110110101 1100001001 010110011 010110101 010110101 1010110101 10111010111 011100101 101010110101 1111101001 1010110101 0110110101 110100101 110100101 1010101101 0011100111 111101101 101001011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 442
  • Average number of words per stanza: 91
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; his, and, he are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word man 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 The Average Man;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by George Essex Evans