The Cross-Roads by Henry Lawson: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Cross-Roads that begins with:

Once more I write a line to you,
While darker shadows fall;... 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: ababcdcd aaaadcdc efefegeg adedhXhc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11110101 110111 11011101 111101 01110101 010111 10110111 011111 010011111 111101 01011101 111101 11110111 0101001 11110101 010101 01011101 011001 01011101 011101 01101100 111111 01010111 110101 11110101 110011 11010101 111101 11110101 111000 10110111 010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 240
  • Average number of words per stanza: 47
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • 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:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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