This is an analysis of the poem Song Of The Negro Boatman that begins with:

Oh, praise an' tanks! De Lord he come
To set de people free;... 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: abaXcdcdEDFDdgdgegegEDFDcbcbhahaEDFDigigfbfbEdFDcdcdjbjbkikigjgjbaXa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 68,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11110111 010101 11010111 111101 01110111 111111 11011111 010110 01010101 110111 1101101011 010101 11011101 110101 01111101 111001 11011101 110111 11011101 1101001 01010101 110111 1101101011 010101 11011111 111101 01110001 011001 11010111 110001 01110111 010111 01010101 110111 1101101011 010101 11010101 110101 11010001 110101 111101001 110101 11111101 111101 01010101 110111 1101101011 010101 11110101 100101 11110101 110101 11110101 110101 11011101 1100111 11011101 110101 11011101 111011 110100101 010001 111111001 110101 11111110 110111 01010100 111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 2047
  • Average number of words per stanza: 423
  • Amount of lines: 68
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (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; an', de, we, own, it, when, of are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Song Of The Negro Boatman;
  • 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