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

VVhat is th' Existence of Mans life?
But open war, or slumber'd strife. ... 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: aabbbbccccddXeffccgghhiijjjjccXceegg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 36,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101010011 110111001 11000110 01000100 11010011 11111001 00011011 11010101 11110001 010100101 110101001 11110001 0001011110 11010101 101111101 11010011 11001101 10110101 00011101 010000111 11010111 11010101 10010101 01010101 0001111 01110101 110010101 01010011 11010111 010001001 00010100 111101101 01010101 01111101 01110101 11110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1285
  • Average number of words per stanza: 236
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Dirge;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Henry King