This is an analysis of the poem May 24, 1980 that begins with:

I have braved, for want of wild beasts, steel cages,
carved my term and nickname on bunks and rafters,...

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: aabaccXcadadeXecXfbf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 20,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111011110 11111111110 110111001010 100101101110 0010010110101010 1111111111010 101001111 1101111010 11100111101010 1011011010010010 101101010110 101011110 101001011001111 110101101110 1011110101 1001011110 11110111101101100 10111101011110 101111011110 10101001000
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 1053
  • Average number of words per stanza: 191
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 52 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 10
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; in is repeated.

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

  • summary of May 24, 1980;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Joseph Brodsky