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

THE long road and the low shore, a sail against the sky,
The ache in my heart's core, and hope so hard to die--... 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: aaa bbb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 3,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0111011010101 010111111101 111011110111 011101110101 010111011111 1110111100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 167
  • Average number of words per stanza: 35
  • Amount of lines: 6
  • Average number of symbols per line: 55 (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; and, long are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word the 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 Watcher;
  • 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