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

THERE was a giant in time of old,
A mighty one was he; ... 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: abaab bcddc bdXed fXggX gbggX dcbbc ghiih hagga fdhhd bbddbXdaeea
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,11,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 110100101 010111 110111101 1110100101 111101 0100010101 101001001 010011011 101100101 111101 101010101 1100001 01011010110 111011101 110101 1110010101 1110111 11100101101 111101101 111111100 1010110111 1100101 0111101101 1110011111 10111110 11111101 1110101 1101011001 111110101 1110101 110010111 0001101 110011111 011010111 111111 11111101 0110101 111001001 1011011001 101101 1101001101 1101001 11101011101 110100101 1101111 101101101 1101101 010110101 1100101001 110101 10110101 111101 010010101 111110101 1110101
  • Amount of stanzas: 13
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 188
  • Average number of words per stanza: 29
  • Amount of lines: 57
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; he, of, your, and, as, they, over are repeated.

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

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

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase he connects the lines.

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

  • summary of The Dorchester Giant;
  • 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