This is an analysis of the poem Woman Work that begins with:

I've got the children to tend
The clothes to mend...

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: aabbccaaddeeff ggXg Xacg deae cgXg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1101001 0101 0101 0101 101001 01001 1110001 01001 11101 0101 01001 1101101 110101 101001 11111 1111 11010 111101 11101 01101 1110101 111101 11011 10101 110101 11101 11101 1010111 1111 11111111
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 136
  • Average number of words per stanza: 28
  • Amount of lines: 30
  • Average number of symbols per line: 22 (very short strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word again 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 Woman Work;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Maya Angelou