This is an analysis of the poem At A Dinner To General Grant that begins with:

JULY 31, 1865
WHEN treason first began the strife... 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: X ababcdcd efefghgh iiijkdkd dfdffjfj cgcgdXdd bgbgjhjh fcfcldld fhfhejej ciXifdfd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 0111 11010101 1100111 01010101 110101 01110111 011111 010100111 110101 11010111 110101 11010101 010111 11011101 110111 11001101 010111 11010101 110101 11010111 1101011 11010101 1101101 110111001 110101 10111101 110101 10010111 1101111 11010101 111101 11110111 0100111 110101101 010101 11011101 110101 10010101 010101 01010101 111101 01010101 1110000 01010011 010101 01010111 110101 11010111 0111001 11011101 110101 01010101 0101001 01000101 110101 11010001 010101 111000101 110111 010010101 010101 1101100101 11101010 01010101 110111 10011101 011101 01011110 1101001 01111111 111101 11100101 110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 10
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 233
  • Average number of words per stanza: 42
  • Amount of lines: 73
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, as, vain, to, his are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words from, vain are repeated.

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

  • summary of At A Dinner To General Grant;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Oliver Wendell Holmes