This is an analysis of the poem The Ship Of State that begins with:

A SENTIMENT
This 'sentiment' was read on the same occasion as the 'Family Record,'... 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: a Xa bbaaaaaaccddddaaeeff
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,2,20,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 0100 0100111010101010010 10100010001010001001000100101010110100011001100 0101010111 1111010001 1111001101 1111110111 1101011110 1011001111 1100010101 0101010111 1011011111 0011010101 11110100101 0101110101 01100010101 1101110101 1111110101 1011000101 1101010111 0101001000 1011010101 1101011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 381
  • Average number of words per stanza: 69
  • Amount of lines: 23
  • Average number of symbols per line: 49 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of, her are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Ship Of State;
  • 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