This is an analysis of the poem Donald And Flora. A Ballad, On The Death Of A Friend Killed At The Battle Of Saratoga that begins with:

When many hearts were gay,
Careless of aught but play,...

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: aaabcccX dddbXccb XccXeeeb aaabaaab XXcbfffb eeegaggb XhhbiiiX cccbXaab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110101 100111 110101 10010 110101 110101 1100101 110010 110101 110101 111101 10110 1111110 110101 1100111 111010 110101 110101 101101 00110 101111 110101 1101101 10010 111101 101101 111101 00110 111110 100111 1101101 101010 101101 101100 101101 10110 111101 101111 1110111 10010 111101 110001 110011 01010 1111101 111100 111100 11010 110111 100101 100111 10010 101101 101101 1100111 111010 1101001 100101 1100101 11110 1101101 1101111 1101101 10110
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 208
  • Average number of words per stanza: 39
  • Amount of lines: 64
  • Average number of symbols per line: 25 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; her, haste are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word haste is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word mora at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase haste connects the lines.

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

  • summary of Donald And Flora. A Ballad, On The Death Of A Friend Killed At The Battle Of Saratoga;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Hector Macneill