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

O guns, fall silent till the dead men hear
Above their heads the legions pressing on:...

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: abab caca dede Xfbf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1111010111 0111010101 1111010101 1111010111 1101011101 0101110101 1111010100 0011011111 1011111111 1111101101 1101011111 1101011111 1001011110 1111100101 1101000101 1010110011
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 179
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word that is repeated.

    The author used the same word o at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of The Anxious Dead;
  • 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 McCrae