Old Man Thunder by Robert Kirkland Kernighan: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Old Man Thunder that begins with:

I 'm old man thunder ! Lo, I come
With roar of wind and throb of drum ; ...

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: aa bccX dX beeX ee beeX ff b ddX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 2,4,2,4,2,4,2,1,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101110111 01011101 1101110 11111101 01011111 10010 01010111 11111111 0101010 11010101 11011101 10010 11110101 11010101 1111010 11111111 01110111 10010 11010111 11010001 11010 1111111 11011001 10010
  • Amount of stanzas: 9
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 83
  • Average number of words per stanza: 17
  • Amount of lines: 25
  • Average number of symbols per line: 29 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 6

  • 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 are repeated.

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

    The author used the same words the, and, 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 Old Man Thunder;
  • 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

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