This is an analysis of the poem Possession that begins with:

A YOUTH sat down on a wayside stone,
A pack on his back and a staff at his knee.... 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: abab cbcX dXdX efef
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 011110111 01101101101 1100111101 1011111011 0011100101 11100110111 1100100111 1100100101 1100110111 11001101010 110010111 111110111 011110101 1100100101 111101111 0110100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 172
  • Average number of words per stanza: 36
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (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; he, his, tune, to, looked, and are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word ' 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 Possession;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay