This is an analysis of the poem Tristia that begins with:

I have studied the Science of departures,
in night’s sorrows, when a woman’s hair falls down....

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: abcbdada bebefgfg dXdehfbi cXciibih
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11100100010 01101010111 0101100101 00110010001 111001100110 11001110111 01110101010 0100010001 11101010010 1101010011 1011110010 1010100100101 1110100011 1011100001 010100011 10110101 1100100010 0101011 01011111010 011110101 111010011 110010011 10111001001 00101010101 10010101101 101010101 101010101 0111011011 11101001001001 101101011 110101001 011101001000
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 430
  • Average number of words per stanza: 65
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 54 (very long strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; in, s, and, of, to, for are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Tristia;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Osip Emilevich Mandelstam