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

I heard a story of a sailing man.
He was a surly sort of mariner,...

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: abcd XaXcXd ccXXaXb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,6,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1101000101 1101010100 1101110101 1101011101 1111000101 11010101010 1100010101 11110101010 1001010001 010101 1101110101 1101110001 1100011001 11011101010 1111110101 0111110101 1101110
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 220
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 19
  • Average number of symbols per line: 34 (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; and is repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by John Crowe Ransom