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

Poor and inadequate the shadow-play
Of gain and loss, of waking and of dream,... 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: abbXaaccXdeeffXdddgg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 1101000111 0111010101 0111011111 10110111000 1101010101 01010011101 11110101010 10010011010 0101001100 1101111100 1111110101 10100100011 0101010100 0101000101 0101001100 0100011111 1111010101 00100110111 1111010001 1111010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 862
  • Average number of words per stanza: 150
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, of 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 At Eventide;
  • 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 Greenleaf Whittier