This is an analysis of the poem The Lugubrious Whing-Whang that begins with:

The rhyme o' The Raggedy Man's 'at's best
Is Tickle me, Love, in these Lonesome Ribs,--... 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: abaaXB bBbbbB cBcccB XBdddB bBbbbbeeB
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0110100111 0101101101 01101001101 1010110111 10100110100 101101101 111100101 101101101 1111111111 1110101101 1111111111 101101101 110100111 101101101 11011101 1001001001 11001001001 101101101 000100111 101101101 1100110111 10110101 110011111 101101101 1010100101 101101101 1011100111 110100111 11111101101 10100100111 1011 1011 101101101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 273
  • Average number of words per stanza: 51
  • Amount of lines: 33
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; in, i, and are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same word ribs 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 The Lugubrious Whing-Whang;
  • 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