This is an analysis of the poem Tam Glen that begins with:

1 My heart is a-breaking, dear Tittie,
2 Some counsel unto me come len';... 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: XXab cXcb XbXb dbdb ebeb fbfX XbXbXabab
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 111001011 111010111 1010010010 111011111 1010110110 101011101 1111010010 101101011 1110011100 11010101111 1111111010 111011111 1110110011 111101111 1110110011 111111111 111111011 111111011 1100011111 111011111 11010100010 111011101 1111110110 11101101010 1011011110 111011111 1010110110 1101011111 111011110 11111111 1110011010 101111011
  • Amount of stanzas: 8
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 172
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 42 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

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

    The poet repeated the same word glen 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 Tam Glen;
  • 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