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

Between the muscle and the hammer-head,
The liquor and the veinous leaf it feeds;...

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: abab bcbc XXXdXadad
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0101010101 0101010101 0101010101 0101011101 0101110111 0101010101 0101110111 0111111101 1101010101 0110010111 0101010101 1101110101 1111010011 1111010111 1111010001 1101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 180
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The author used the same word between 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 The Barriers;
  • 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 Treece