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

The harbingers are come. See, see their mark;
White is their colour, and behold my head. ... 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: XaXaXa bcbcXX XcXcaa dXdXee fbfbXX ggggXc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0100111111 1011010111 1111111110 11001010101 11011001 1111111111 0110011111 111111011 11111100101 1111110101 1001011 1011111111 1111010100 1011111101 011101001010 1011101111 11011111 1111111111 1001010101 1001010111 11110101011 1111011101 111111001 1111111101 1101001011 0101010111 111001101 111111001 111101110 1110111010 10111111111 1111110111 0101010011 11001110101 101100101 11010100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 264
  • Average number of words per stanza: 50
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (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; my, me, i, and, thy are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Forerunners;
  • 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 Herbert