This is an analysis of the poem The Dean Of Faculty: A New Ballad that begins with:

DIRE was the hate at old Harlaw,
That Scot to Scot did carry;... 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: XaXabcXc dedebfbf gagaaghg bibibXbX hXaajjjj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,8,8,8,8,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rima
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101011110 1101010 110010101 1101010 11011111 10101011 1111110101 110010011 01110111 0101110 11011101 01001010 110101001 1101010 111101101 101010010 11011001 0101010 11000101 11001010 111000100 1101010 111110111 01101110 111101101 00101010 11010101 1101010 110110101 11100111 111110101 1101010 01100111111 11001110 1011010100 10101010 0110100101 01100010 010010011 0110110
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 270
  • Average number of words per stanza: 49
  • Amount of lines: 44
  • Average number of symbols per line: 30 (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; your is repeated.

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

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

  • summary of The Dean Of Faculty: A New 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