This is an analysis of the poem Song—the Braes O' Killiecrankie that begins with:

WHERE hae ye been sae braw, lad?
Whare hae ye been sae brankie, O?... 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 cbcb dbdBD XbXBD
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,5,5,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 1110111 1110111 1110111 1111001 1011101110 1110111 11111111 10111001 11111111 11111101 111010101 10111001 11101 01101001 1101011 11111101 10111001 11101
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 140
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 21
  • Average number of symbols per line: 26 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The speaker asks many questions. Perhaps, he or she is in confusion.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; ye, hae, been, sae, i, faught, at are repeated.

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

    The poet repeated the same words o, c 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 Song—the Braes O' Killiecrankie;
  • 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