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

Knows he who tills this lonely field
To reap its scanty corn,... 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: abab bcbc dada efef gegc haha aaaa idid jhjhXbdb Xkkk XfXf Xgcg
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,8,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 11110101 010101 11010101 111111 00110101 011101 11011101 011101 01011101 101101 11110101 101001 1111000101 11010101 0111010 110111 10110011 11010101 11010101 110101 11010111 110001001 01110111 11010111 11000101 11110111 110100111 11011111 110100101 111111 01111001 110101 1001110 1001001 1011100 111001 10111111 010111 101100111 010101 110101 111011 11011111 1111111 111101 110111 01010100 001111 1100111 010100 01010101 010100
  • Amount of stanzas: 12
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 135
  • Average number of words per stanza: 25
  • Amount of lines: 52
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • 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; who, they, for, their are repeated.

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

    The author used the same words they, ye at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of Dirge;
  • 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 Waldo Emerson