This is an analysis of the poem A Una Calavera that begins with:

Esqueleto, ¿qué has hecho de tu alma?
Antorcha, di, ¿tu luz en dónde está? ...

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: abaX aXaX bbcX XdXe acXX feXc XXX X XXXc aXaX XXXX dXXb XdXc XXXX XXXc aXXX fXX X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,3,1,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,3,1,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 100011100110 1001111101 101011111110 11101110100 10100100011010 10111111011 11110011010 10011111011 11001011000111 1010010010 11100010100111 1110010010110 110110011100 1111011100011 10101111011000 11001111001 11010101100 01001010110 111110100010 1101011010 10100111010 1101011001 1101101000 11001111011 110110100100 111100110010 11100000101010 101100111010 11111101100 110110100 11101110000 11111101 1001001010 11100100001 100101101110 111101100 11000111110 1100110110 110111110 110011100 111011011101 1110101100 1101001011 1110001001101 10010010100 101001001 11001110010 110001101110 11111110001100 1110100101 1100111100111 1111010010 1111100110100 0100101001010 11110101100 110100011001 11101111111010 1100011011100 1111101001100 1100111010010 111010011010 10011000101 1000110011000 111010011
  • Amount of stanzas: 18
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 129
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 64
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; tu, de, en, la, sin, al, que, y, su are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Una Calavera;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Gregorio Gutiérrez González