This is an analysis of the poem Caledonia: A Ballad that begins with:

THERE was once a day, but old Time wasythen young,
That brave Caledonia, the chief of her line,... 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: ababbcbc dXdXebeb fcfcgcgc fhfhicic jdjdckck gbgbfiXf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 111011111001 111010001001 0101101001 11111100001 01001001001 01101011111 0100101101 11011001000 01001101001 01001001001 01011001001 10010111010110 01011011111 01011101101 11001001001 01001001101 1101111001 0101100101 01001011010 11001111001 11001011011 10101100101 11001101011 01001011111 01001001001 01001001011 01011011101 11111001101 0101001001 110100001101 11101101001 1101001101 01101011001 01001101001 01101001101 01001011001 101011011001 11101011101 111010001101 1111101101 111010100011 01101011011 111010001010 11001011101 10011001011 00101111001 11100001000 11011011011
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 371
  • Average number of words per stanza: 64
  • Amount of lines: 53
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; her, to, and are repeated.

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

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

  • summary of Caledonia: A Ballad;
  • 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