This is an analysis of the poem Manhole Covers that begins with:

The beauty of manhole covers--what of that?
Like medals struck by a great savage khan,...

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: abXcbadXaXcdbX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic tetrameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 01001110101 1101101101 110100110010000 1101100111 10110001 111101111 0011001 10101100101 011101011 11011100101 11001001011 101010 100100100 01010
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 539
  • Average number of words per stanza: 89
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 38 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; like, and are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Manhole Covers;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Karl Shapiro