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

The sun has slipped his tether
And galloped down the west....

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: abCdbeeC dfCdfggC dhCXheeC eiCaijjc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 0111010 110101 101010101 0101010 0010001 11011101 11011111 101010101 0101010 0010101 101010101 1111010 1010001 11011101 11011111 101010101 11011010 110101 101010101 1101010 1000111 01011111 11110111 101010101 0100010 111101 101010101 1111010 0011111 11011111 11100101 101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 263
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • 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 is repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word love at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

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

  • summary of Waiting;
  • 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