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

In the dream of the Northern poets,
The brave who in battle die ... 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: ababcddd deXeaefe XgXgcheh ihbhedbd fXjijkek jdfdaejeXhhchajfj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,17,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 001001010 0110101 11010010 00100101 11110101 0100101 010100101 10100101 1100100100 00101111 1110101100 0101101 01011101 11111101 11111101 1110111 011111111 111111 01110101 1100111 010101100 1101111 111100111 10101011 01110111 0101101 11010101 10100111 1101100101 11110101 1110101011 110101 1011000101 0111010 10110001010 010101 111000101 111101 11011101 011111 010111101 0010111 11010101 010010010 11111101 0100111 1010010101 101001001 111001101 1111101 11110100100 1010111 111110101 010101 1010011101 10100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 290
  • Average number of words per stanza: 54
  • Amount of lines: 56
  • Average number of symbols per line: 36 (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; in, we, their, of, and are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Advance Guard;
  • 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 Hay