This is an analysis of the poem On Looking Through An Old Punishment Book [at Eurunderee School] that begins with:

I took the book of punishment,
And ran its columns down;... 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: XaXabcbc adcdbefe afXfbaXa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11010100 110101 11001101 110001 11010101 111101 11010101 11111 11011110 111111 01010101 111101 110101110 1011111 11100101 110101 11111101 110101 110101011 111101 010101001 011111 101010111 111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 236
  • Average number of words per stanza: 48
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • 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; names, i are repeated.

    The author used the same word i at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of On Looking Through An Old Punishment Book [at Eurunderee School];
  • 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 Lawson