This is an analysis of the poem Don'T Tell Mother that begins with:

I thing I'm dying, Tom, old boy; I'm all broke up
to-night ; ...

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: X a ab ca c dde fg X dd cd ch ec ei jk j ba b c dd e li lh k kf li le Xi c dc d d dc di aX Xc bX b c dc d X ge g ddbX b deXd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 1,1,2,2,1,3,2,1,2,2,2,2,2,2,1,2,1,1,2,1,2,2,1,2,2,2,2,1,2,1,1,2,2,2,2,2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,4,1,4,
  • Closest metre: trochaic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 110101110111 01 111111111110101 111111101111 11111 100111011101 111 11111100111101 111111101110001 11111101011 1111 110010111010111 11 10110111110111 11010101110111 11110101011101 0111010111010 1 11010101011 111 11111101111 111 01111111010 101 1001110111010 1 1111010110101 110111011111 1001 111101111111 11 101101111110111 11011100111111 1 11011011110 101 101101011111 11 110111011110101 1111001111010 1 1111010111110 1 1111110111110 1 1111011111110 0 111111101010111 10110111111011 1 1110111111111 1 110010101011 101 11010100111010 1 1111001111111 110 11111111111 101 1011011111110 1 1101010111001 1 11011110111011 1 111111010111 11 011101110100 01 11011111110110 11111001010111 11011101110101 11010011111111 1 1101111110011 1101011111101 11
  • Amount of stanzas: 47
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 59
  • Average number of words per stanza: 12
  • Amount of lines: 80
  • Average number of symbols per line: 35 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 7
  • Mood of the speaker:

    There are many exclamation marks in the poem. The speaker is excited. He or she has strong feelings on the subject that is described in the poem.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, and, never, my, late, too, nearer, old, her are repeated.

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

    The author used the same word i at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

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

  • summary of Don'T Tell Mother;
  • 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 Kirkland Kernighan