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

Men late at night cook coffee in rusty cans,
just like in the hills, like in their childhoods,...

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: aaaaabcdaaXeeXaaabffXXg cXhdiagaih
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 23,10,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111100101 1100110111 01111010100110 111110 1101011110 110111011 0101010 010101101 0111001011 01 11101011110 11110111 11111 111100101 11110111 01111011 1011011 111011 00110100010 111101 111111101 1000111 110101010 01001101001 101101 101110001 1010110001 00101011001 01101011010 10101001010101010 010011011 01111010 01001
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 627
  • Average number of words per stanza: 117
  • Amount of lines: 33
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; in, or, and are repeated.

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

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The County Jail;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Jimmy Santiago Baca