This is an analysis of the poem The Flag Of The Free that begins with:

Oh, say! did you hear, 'mid the tempest of War,
That swept like a blight through the heart of our Nation,... 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: ababcccXd eXeXddddd fcfcaaadd ebebggXhh
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,9,9,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11011101001 111011010110 011001101001 11100101101010 011101 101001 01101101111 01101011101 11001101001 101101001011 1011011111010 101001101101 010111111100 111101 011101 11011001011 101001101101 11111101001 11011101101 010111110010 11001101001 1001011110010 1110001 1010001 11011001001 111101011111 010101001001 110010001011 111110110010 001101001101 1100100010110 11111 001001 101011101011 111011001001 1001001101001
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 408
  • Average number of words per stanza: 75
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word free at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of The Flag Of The Free;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Kate Harrington