This is an analysis of the poem At The Ship’s Rail that begins with:

The blue sea bends to the ship
Like a dancer with skirts of lace—... 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: abab cdcdXbcbc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 0111001 10100101 10100101111 0010101 10111101 1101001 1101100111 0100111 100100 001001101 10011111 101111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 130
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 12
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

  • summary of At The Ship’s Rail;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Harriet Monroe