This is an analysis of the poem They Can Only Drag You Down that begins with:

Leader, poet, singer, artist, who have struggled long and won,
Though the climbing is behind you, now the battle has begun,... 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: aaaa bbaa ccaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101010101110111 101000111010110 111100101010001 101101101110111 101110101111101 101010101010111 111110111111101 101110100110111 101110111010001 101000111010111 101111111010111 100110101110111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 258
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 12
  • Average number of symbols per line: 64 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 12
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word down 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 They Can Only Drag You Down;
  • 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