This is an analysis of the poem The Prodigals that begins with:

Knee-deep our prairies link the seas,
Flood-full our voiceless rivers wend,...

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: ababaa cbcbdd eaeaff bcbcaa ababff acacff gbgbeX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 11110101 11110101 11010101 11010001 111101001 11010101 11110101 11111101 11110101 01111111 11111101 01010101 110010001 11010101 11011001 11010011 11010101 11010001 01110101 11111101 01010101 11010011 11011101 11011111 11011001 11000111 11110001 11010001 11111101 01010101 01100101 11011101 11111101 11110001 11110101 01010111 01010101 11010101 11111111 01000101 01001101 1110101011
  • Amount of stanzas: 7
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 243
  • Average number of words per stanza: 39
  • Amount of lines: 42
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; we, and, to are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words our, and are repeated.

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

  • summary of The Prodigals;
  • 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 James Campbell Stead