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

The hat he wore was full of holes,
And his battered shoes were worn to the soles.... 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: aaaaXbccaaaaddeeffbbggddhhbbXXii ggggjjkk
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 32,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 01111101 1010101001 01101101001 10101011111 01010100 111011101 1100111001 011011101 101110101 010110101 10111101001 1100100111 01111011101 111100101 110011101 010111111 010101101 111011101 110111101 110100101 1100111101 0101011101 01011101 1010100101 10010101 110100101 111110111 101010111 111100111 01010111 1111011001 11010101 111101011 0111011001 1111001001 11001011001 110100101 1010011101 1101001001 100101101
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 809
  • Average number of words per stanza: 160
  • Amount of lines: 41
  • Average number of symbols per line: 39 (medium-length strings)
  • 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; and, his are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words a, she, and, why are repeated.

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Madison Julius Cawein