This is an analysis of the poem A Son Of The Soil that begins with:

Said the Preacher “All is Vanity!”—appending as a reason
That the things we find our pleasure in are bound to pass and pall;... 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 cdcd adad dada efef dgdg dhdi Xadaajaj dk dk ilil caca mimh clXX aXaf adad ffXf mimhXa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,8,2,2,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,6,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1010101001001010 101111100110111 1010111001001010 001111100110011 1111111110101010 101000011010101 1111001111001010 101011111110001 01100110111101010 101011100010101 10100110001010100 111001101110101 0010101001101010 01000100110101 1010101010101010 101001101001111 1111101000101010 001001101011101 1110101001101010 001011101010101 1010101011100010 101010101010101 0101001000101110 101110111010101 1011010010101010 110001011010 1010101100100110 1110000101111101 110111010101010 101111101010111 111111010100010 101011100010101 110011000100010 111010111010001 110111110101010 01010100110101 1110101110100010 101101101010101 1110111010101010 1101010010101 110111010101011 101010011010111 10101010100101001 11010101010101 110001000111010 11000010110101 1010101001111010 1111110100110111 1110101011101010 10100100101010101 1110101000100110 11100010111010 0010010011110010 11011111010011 0110011000100100 11011111010010 1110101000101010 11110100111010 1110101110101010 001001000010011 1110101110100010 0101101010001 1010101111100010 101101101011101 1011001110101010 101010110110101 1010001010110110 10110101111101 1011101010101110 1010100101110101 1010101010100010 1101011111010 01010001010
  • Amount of stanzas: 19
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 226
  • Average number of words per stanza: 41
  • Amount of lines: 74
  • Average number of symbols per line: 57 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; as, you, that, of, i, to, at, and, have, me, with are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word how 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 A Son Of The Soil;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by James Brunton Stephens