This is an analysis of the poem The King Is Dead that begins with:

Aye, lay him in his grave, the old dead year!
His life is lived--fulfilled his destiny....

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: aXaaX aaaaa bcbbc cXccX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 5,5,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 1110010111 0101010100 1111110101 01010110001 1111010001 1111010111 0111010101 0101110101 1101110101 1101111111 0011011101 1111010101 0101111111 10010100001 1111111101 1101111111 1101110101 1111010001 11101111101 11011101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 216
  • Average number of words per stanza: 43
  • Amount of lines: 20
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; his, of, not, you are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The King Is Dead;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar