This is an analysis of the poem Earth Presses Against Us that begins with:

Earth is pressing against us, trapping us in the final passage.
To pass through, we pull off our limbs....

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: abXXbXcbbXXcXab X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 15,1,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: no rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1010011101001010 01111111 101010101001111111 010001101111101010 0101010011011110 1110011010101011001 10110011111101 110100111111010010 001101010110 1111100110111110011 11111001101 11110101 1101011 11011001010 1111101101 0101101011001
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 468
  • Average number of words per stanza: 90
  • Amount of lines: 16
  • 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; us, we, of, last, after, should, where, here are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words if, where, we, here are repeated.

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

  • summary of Earth Presses Against Us;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Mahmoud Darwish