This is an analysis of the poem Mermaid, Dragon, Fiend that begins with:

In my childhood rumors ran
Of a world beyond our door-...

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 cdcd ebeb afaf ffff bfbf eXeX XgXgXecec
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,9,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 0111101 0010111 1000101 1010101 010101 0110111 01010101 001101 1110101 1110101 1111111 1010111 1110111 110111001 1110111 11100111 1011101 11111001 11010011 1110011 11110011 1000101 1000101 0110101 11011101 1110100 11100111 1010111 10010101 01010101 11100111 11010101 1101001 0110011 010111001 01110011
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 127
  • Average number of words per stanza: 23
  • Amount of lines: 36
  • Average number of symbols per line: 31 (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; of, no are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words of, no, or, the are repeated.

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

  • summary of Mermaid, Dragon, Fiend;
  • 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 Graves