This is an analysis of the poem Ballad On The American War that begins with:

WHEN Guilford good our pilot stood
An' did our hellim thraw, man,... 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: abcbXbdb dbbbebab XbXbbbeb XbcbXbXb fbXbebdb Xbebgbdb XbdbXbfX bbdbXbgX fbXbbbXb
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11001101 1011011 11110101 0101001 11110101 1001011 10110110 1101111 11010101 1111111 11011101 110011 11101101 0101011 11010101 1001011 11010101 1111011 110111001 1101001 11111101 1101011 11111111 111111 01111111 1101011 11011101 0101011 01011111 1001111 11011101 1100011 11011101 0101011 111101101 0101011 11011101 1101111 11011101 110010011 11011101 1101111 11011101 0101011 11011101 1001011 11110101 1110011 111101010 1101101 1010101001 1101111 01011110 1101011 11010111 101010110 01011101 0101111 11100101 0101011 11010101 0101011 11011101 11110110 11111111 10101011 11011111 0110011 11001101 1001011 11111111 0101011
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 267
  • Average number of words per stanza: 50
  • Amount of lines: 80
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (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; an' is repeated.

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

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

    The poet repeated the same word man 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 Ballad On The American War;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Robert Burns