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

IN dog-days plowmen quit their toil,
And frog-ponds in the meadow boil,...

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: aaaaa bbbb cccc dddd ddddX ddddd eeeXe fXff ccc cc gggg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,4,4,4,5,5,5,4,3,2,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01110111 11100111 11010101 11010111 11111101 01010101 11010111 011101111 11010111 010100111 00110100101 0100100111 1001110101 1010100101 01010101 01010111 11001111 111100101 110011101 01001101 11110111 11110010 11010100 11101110 11010100 111111101 110111111 11110111 111100111 111101100 1010111111 010101101 11110101 11111111 11111111 11111101 110111101 10010101 0101100111 11000101 01111111 10111010 10101010 111001010 100111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 11
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 144
  • Average number of words per stanza: 29
  • Amount of lines: 55
  • Average number of symbols per line: 28 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

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

  • summary of The Swimmer;
  • 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