This is an analysis of the poem On An Occasion Of National Mourning that begins with:

It is admittedly difficult for a whole
Nation to mourn and be seen to do so, but...

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: XabXXccaacXdcbaXddbX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 000100100101 10011010111 01010100101 0100111111 101001010100 0101010101 1101110101 0101110101 0011001101 0011101101 110101011011 1001110101 0111011101 00101011101 1010111010001 11010010011 010001110001 10010101001 11011100101 010001001001
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 848
  • Average number of words per stanza: 154
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of On An Occasion Of National Mourning;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Howard Nemerov