This is an analysis of the poem A Utilitarian View Of The Monitor's Fight that begins with:

Plain be the phrase, yet apt the verse,
More ponderous than nimble;... 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: abcdeb Xfgdff ahXhXh iaceiaXcgfcag
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,13,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 10011101 1100110 111011101 01011101 10001 01001010 101000101 01011111 010101010 11000111 1101 01011100 10110101 010101010 10010111 11011111 1011 110100010 10010101 01001111 110101 01000101 0101 10010001 11101001 111101010 111010100 111100011 1111 101111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 193
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (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; war, but are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Utilitarian View Of The Monitor's Fight;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Herman Melville