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

It's sixty years ago, the people say:
Two village children, neighbours born and bred, ...

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: ababXbXaXaXaaX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 0100010101 1101010111 1101010101 1111110111 1111111101 0111010001 1101110101 1101010101 1101110101 1100011111 1111000111 1100010101 1100010111 0011111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 612
  • Average number of words per stanza: 113
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • 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; and is repeated.

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

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

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

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Ralph Hodgson