This is an analysis of the poem In Time Of Drought that begins with:

The rushes are black by the river bed,
And the sheep and the cattle stand... 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: aaXaXbcb XaXaXbXb XaXacbcb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0101110101 10110101 10110100 00101011 11101101101 1110101 1111100101 11101101 011100101 111001011 1110110100 1110101 01001011101 1110101 10110110101 10100101 111100101 1010111 110110101 111101 11111101111 1110101 1110101111 10100111
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 305
  • Average number of words per stanza: 60
  • Amount of lines: 24
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and is repeated.

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

    The author used the same word the at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

    The poet repeated the same word full 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 In Time Of Drought;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Mary Hannay Foott