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

It was a week from Christmas-time,
As near as I remember, ... 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: abcbXbcbdbdbebeb dbdbebebfbfXgbgXgggghbhX XXadXbXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,24,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 01010101 1111010 11011001 1101010 01111111 0111110 11111101 1101010 01011101 0101010 11011111 1101110 11010111 1101010 11011111 1111010 0101010111 1111010 01011111 1101010 01110001 0101010 11010111 1111010 011111011 1111110 11001101 11111100 11111101 0111110 101010101 11110100 11110101 0101110 11010101 1101010 01010101 0101010 101001111 1101100 1010011110101 11011110 11011001 1010111010 110111010 11010110 01110011 00010100
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 566
  • Average number of words per stanza: 100
  • Amount of lines: 48
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; with, and, i are repeated.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Paroo;
  • 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