This is an analysis of the poem Second Epistle To J. Lapraik that begins with:

WHILE new-ca'd kye rowte at the stake
An' pownies reek in pleugh or braik,... 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: aXabXb ccXdcd XeefXX ggXdgd hXhehX aaadaX bXbXXX iiijij Xkklkl bbbfbf dXdXdX mmmhXh dddgdX dXdXdg mmmXmX mmmdmd nnndnd Xcccfcf
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,7,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11111101 11010111 0101100111 01010 01010110 10110 10010101 10011101 11011001 1111 11011111 1111 01001001 111111010 111110110 0111 11110111 11010 01010111 10000111101 11110101 0101 11010111 1101 101100111 111001110 11111110 01110 11010111 111100 11110001 1111001 111001101 11110 10110101 111110 111001110 011111100 111111010 1111 111101110 1111 11011111 11011111 11011111 1101 11110111 1101 1111100111 1111101 110111111 111 11111111 1111 1101110010 110101010 110101010 1101 110101010 1111 11100101 10010111 101111111 1101 01110101 0101 11010101 11011101 11101111 1101 11110111 1111 101111111 11111101 11101101 1101 11111101 011100 00010011 1011101110 01011011 0110 110101101 1111 11010111 11010101 11010101 10010 11101101 11110 111100101 010100101 11010111 01001 11011101 1111 11111111 110100001 10110101 0101 10111001 1101 11101101 01110101 11110111 0111 11010101 1101
  • Amount of stanzas: 18
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 186
  • Average number of words per stanza: 34
  • Amount of lines: 125
  • Average number of symbols per line: 26 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, an', he are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word sae 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 Second Epistle To J. Lapraik;
  • 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