This is an analysis of the poem A Lament For The Potato that begins with:

There is woe, there is clamour, in our desolated land,
And wailing lamentation from a famine‐stricken band;... 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: aabbcc aaddeeaaaa ffbbddgghhaaX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,10,13,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 10110100110001 110100000100001 11010101010101 10110101010011 11110101010011 10101110110111 1010110110111 10101110101101 11110010011011 11101110110101 11100011110101 10101100010101 10110101110101 11011101110101 10101010101001 11101110001111 10101010101011 11000111010101 01001100010101 110101001010101 10100111110101 10100100111001 11110101010011 101011100110001 11101101010101 001000011010011 10101010101101 11100101110101 11101101010011000111010
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 572
  • Average number of words per stanza: 104
  • Amount of lines: 29
  • Average number of symbols per line: 58 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 11
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, of, no, in are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of A Lament For The Potato;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Lady Jane Wilde