This is an analysis of the poem The Ship-Builders that begins with:

THE sky is ruddy in the east,
The earth is gray below,... 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: ababcdcdaeaefgfghihicjcjeaeahkhklblbcfcfcjcjjmjmnknkebebedeXdfdfidideeeedfdfdkdk
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 80,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01010001 010101 11000101 011101 11010101 110101 0110011 010001 11010111 010101 110110111 110001 11110111 011101 11110101 010101 01110101 110101 11010101 110101 11110111 010111 110100101 110101 11010111 110101 110101010 010101 11011101 110101 11011101 110101 100010101 011111 100010111 011101 11110101 010101 11010101 101101 01010101 010111 01011101 110101 11110101 110111 11010101 110101 11010111 110011 11011101 011001 11111001 010101 11010111 110101 110100001 010111 01010100 110100 100011101 010101 11010101 010101 11011101 110101 11011001 010101 11011101 110111 11010101 1101110 00010101 010101 01010101 010101 01110101 110101 11110101 011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 2464
  • Average number of words per stanza: 455
  • Amount of lines: 80
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; her, for are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words the, for, no are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Ship-Builders;
  • 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