This is an analysis of the poem At Last that begins with:

A dark, tempestuous night; the stars shut in
With shrouds of fog; an inky, jet-black blot... 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: ababcc dcdcXX aeaeXX ababcc fgfgdd XXbXXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 01110010110 0101110111 0100110110 11010110101 01110010101 1011010101 0111110001 1101010101 1111011101 0101110101 0111011101 1011010111 0101011101 11001100111 0101111101 1111010101 1101110101 1110011101 1101010101 1001010001 1111101101 110010011 1101000111 1011000101 0111000111 0101011001 0111011111 0111011111 1101111001 0101011101 1111011101 1101011101 1101010101 1101111010 1101011111 0100011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 262
  • Average number of words per stanza: 50
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word a at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines ' is 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 At Last;
  • 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 Whitcomb Riley